Intel Preps Silvermont Atom Architecture

Any gains in the booming tablet market would be good for Intel, which is still being hit hard by the slowing global PC market. Seymore said Intel will be further helped when tablets and other devices running Bay Trail chips hit the market later this year.

“We note Intel had essentially no presence in tablets in 2012 and therefore any presence in 2013/14 yields share gains and a revenue generator to at least partially offset weakness in the traditional PC market,” he wrote. “We continue to believe [Intel’s] ability to profitability address these next-generation computing form factors (tablets, convertibles etc) is underestimated by investors.”

Intel executives themselves have been vocal about their expectation for the market, saying during an 16 April conference call with analysts and journalists to discuss first-quarter financial numbers that they expect tablet chip shipments to double in the second quarter on the strength of the Clover Trail chips for Windows 8 tablets and “Lexington” SoCs for Android devices.

However, Seymore said that overall tablet shipments for the quarter will likely be flat from the first quarter to the second – with Apple iPad numbers down sharply – which “implies significant market share gains for Intel.”

Stephen Belanger, an analyst with Technology Business Research, is less optimistic about Intel’s chances in the tablet space. In a research note 16 April, Belanger said that Intel’s more energy-efficient processors – including Haswell, Bay Trail and the “Clover Trail+” Atom chips – will help the company better compete with ARM.

“However, sales of the next generation of Intel-powered PCs will be threatened by weak demand and uncertainty surrounding Windows 8 adoption,” he said.

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Originally published on eWeek.