Intel who has seen sales in the PC market plunge is now considering whether to pull out of the smartphone market according to sources in Taiwan.
Back in 2011 Intel quit the TV after they failed to get its x86 processors into televisions
At the time the US processor Company said that they were shifting resources to its tablet and smartphone computer group.
Intel spokesperson Claudine Mangano told Bloomberg at the time “This is a business decision where we’re taking those resources and applying them to corporate priorities,”
Now three years on Intel is tipped to pull the plug on their smartphone endeavors. According to DigiTimes in Taiwan where Intel has a major manufacturing operation rumors are flying around key manufacturers of components that the US Company will pull the plug on smartphones.
Intel has reportedly questioned whether it should quit the smartphone market in 2015 as they continue to see weak performance in their handset business.
DigiTimes sources claim that Intel has not seen any significant improvements in their smartphone business over the past few years.
Lenovo, one of the major shipment contributors for Intel’s smartphone products in 2013, has already pulled the plug on Intel’s handset business with the company now struggling to find new manufacturing partners for their smartphone processors.
Intel is currently working with Asustek Computer to release the ZenFone series smartphones with the 4-inch model priced at US$99, the 5-inch model US$149 and the 6-inch model US$199.
The smartphones will be released in March, targeting mainly the China and Southeast Asia markets.
Asustek is expected to release at least three more Intel-based smartphones in the second half.
In February, Intel will announce its next-generation Merrifield-based 22nm smartphone processor, the dual-core Atom SoC (2.13GHz) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014. The platform will feature the XMM 7160 LTE solution and NXP’s PN547 NFC solution, and is set to start shipping at the end of March.
