Intel Is Trying To Get Its WiDi In To Tablets
Intel is pretty bullish about getting into the portable segment in a big way, but so far they have only been able to realize that goal in terms of laptops and netbooks. When it comes mobile devices like modern smarpthones and tablets — ARM still rules the roost. Intel has been trying to get into ARM’s turf with Atom for quite some time now and this time they are trying a different approach that involves their WiDi wireless streaming technology.
After integrating WiDi into multiple laptops, Intel is planning to bring it to tablets as well. The main advantage for the consumer would be that they would be able to stream content from their PC to their tablets and walk around the house with you.
But right now, getting a WiDi enabled laptop is not the only thing that a consumer needs to get the whole laptop to tv streaming happening. They need to buy a Netgear adapter for $100 to attach to their TV and complete the whole connection.
The technology itself is not exactly Intel’ own. It is based on a new WiFi standard that supposedly offers a bandwidth of 4GBps for 10 meters in all directions. The TV adapter is made by Netgear of course. However, the technology does not have ‘line-of-sight’ problem and hence it can work across rooms without a direct clear line between the PC/Laptop and the receiver. This is not a problem for TV viewers but it definitely would’ve been a problem for tablet owners.
There’s a possibility that Intel will be bundling the WiDi chip with Atom and sell it to manufacturers at a cheaper price in order to push Atom into the mobile segment. However, since most of the devices are ARM based in the mobile industry, Intel might be losing out on sales.
Date: October 10, 2010
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