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Intel's success in China hinges on budget phones and tablets
"China is the number one market with connected products." That was how Intel's Senior Vice President Kirk Skaugen kicked off his keynote at IDF in Shenzhen, citing China's staggering 30 percent share of worldwide connected-device purchases in 2014. The country gobbled up 40 percent of the 46 million Intel-powered tablets shipped globally. Not bad, but 46 million is hardly anything compared to the 420.7 million smartphones shipped in China alone in the same year -- only a tiny percentage of which packed an Intel chip. Most others relied on Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung. Intel's smartphone market share is so small that it never dared to share the stats; it could be as low as 2.81 percent in the Android space, according to benchmark specialist AnTuTu.
Intel's new Atom chips cover cheap phones to premium tablets
Intel's been slow to transform itself for the new mobile world, but with its latest family of Atom chips, it may finally be able to go toe to toe with Qualcomm. The chip giant announced the Atom X3, X5 and X7 processors at Mobile World Congress today, giving it an arsenal that can fit into both budget and high-end devices (and everything in between). Specifically, Intel's targeting the new X3 chip at devices under $75, while the X5 and X7 are aimed at gadgets priced at $119 or more. The X3 also marks the first time it's been able to integrate a modem into a system-on-a-chip (it's available in both 3G and LTE variants). While Intel's still struggling to become a player among Android devices, these new chips offer something that Qualcomm doesn't: full Windows support. They put Intel in a prime spot to cash in as device makers start designing their Windows 10 wares (which will include everything from phones to high-end desktops).
