Intel Corp (INTC)

[fowler]

Fin,

re: Well, there's always the concept of "bundling" if the maker does both... HP/Compaq could bundle a PDA with a WiFi-enabled PC... Dell could do the same...

Still a tough sell, I think.

It's interesting. 4th quater you have the tablet PC's. According to Intel, early next year you have Banias notebook PC's shipping with WiFi. Soon after that desktop PC's. I'm not sure of the time line for PDA's with WiFi. But it looks like Intel is managing to push the communication/computing thing into the mainstream at least by the end of next year.

It's a bit of a departure for Intel, adding function instead of pure speed. "Radio Free Intel". Is it really free, will another vendor be able to add the wireless function at a cheaper price?

The competitive implications could be interesting. I'm not sure how quickly Intel will have WiFi directly on silicon, I assume as they introduce .09. Since so many companies are having a hard time getting to .13, how would they compete with computing and communications on the same .09 chip? As always, it depends on if the end users are compelled to purchase.

Just think out loud.

John