Intel, Microsoft's alliance faces test at IDF

IDG News Service - The strength of the once-prosperous Wintel alliance could be tested at Intel's developer show next week as the chip maker and Microsoft adapt to a market shift from PCs to mobile devices such as tablets, analysts said this week.

The chip maker is expected to highlight new chips for laptops and tablets at the Intel Developer Forum, Sept. 13 to 15 in San Francisco. Intel will also share further details about ultrabooks, a new class of thin and light laptops, for which Microsoft will show its upcoming Windows 8 OS.

But as the decades-long Wintel monopoly in the PC market crumbles under tablet pressure, Intel will try to stake a position in the mobile market by drumming up support for Linux-based OSes such as MeeGo and Google's Android, analysts said.

PC shipments have slowed down over the last few quarters amid growing interest in tablets. With that writing on the wall, Intel and Microsoft are cutting cords on their PC-era relationship to move with the market, analysts said.

Microsoft has added support for ARM architecture with Windows 8, while Intel has expanded its commitment to Linux by developing its own MeeGo OS and porting Android to work with its tablet chips.

Ironically, IDF's dates also clash with Microsoft's BUILD conference, from Sept. 13-16 in Anaheim, California. Some analysts said that Intel and Microsoft would not usually compete for developer attention, but the collision of major conferences is a sign of the changing times.

The Wintel alliance made the PC great, but Microsoft and Intel seem to be headed in different directions to catch up with rivals in new markets such as tablets, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.

"There's still a lot of common interest in terms of the PC. However, Microsoft's move to support ARM-based systems clearly puts some stress on that relationship," Brookwood said. ARM processors are found on most smartphones and tablets today, and are considered more power-efficient than Intel's Atom chips.

Intel may use IDF to prove that its Atom chips can outperform ARM when running Android on tablets, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. Intel may show new Android tablets based on upcoming Atom chips to prove its point, Gold said.

Intel is also trying to build a developer base as it takes steps to fit into the emerging mobile markets, Gold said. Intel has virtually no presence in the tablet and smartphone markets, and needs to develop a software ecosystem to supplement its hardware, Gold said. Intel will be holding technical sessions for Android and Windows developers at IDF.