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People also forget that Intel had a pretty decent line of ARM CPUs right before the time the iPhone was released (XScale). And they gave up on those too, just i
by sgerenser 7y ago
People also forget that Intel had a pretty decent line of ARM CPUs right before the time the iPhone was released (XScale). And they gave up on those too, just in time for the market for smartphone CPUs to explode.
- pavlov 7y agoNot only pretty decent — XScale was the best and fastest ARM for PDA-size devices. The only reason Intel killed XScale was that it wasn't x86, it came through an acquisition, and they were afraid to cannibalize their own x86-based mobile plans. Turns out it would have been far better to disrupt yourself rather than let others do it.
- DeathArrow 7y agoWeird since Intel tried themselves to kill x86 with IA-64.
- saagarjha 7y agoIntel tried to replace x86 with Itanium. XScale was just a thing they did on the side.
- btian 7y agoBecause they won't have to share IA-64 with AMD. ARM has many other licensees so Intel didn't want to continue
- baybal2 7y agoIA-64 is the "INTEL Architecture 64", xScale is the non-Intel architecture. A childish NIH driven decision that destroyed their future.
- gok 7y agoTheir hearts were never really in XScale. Intel only ended up having that group due to a bizarre legal settlement with DEC, and pawned it off to Marvell in some misguided attempt at corporate streamlining.
- aidenn0 7y agoShould also point out that the lead on the DEC StrongARM (which became Intel XScale) was Dan Dobberpuhl, who founded PASemi, which Apple bought to help their own chip development work. In between he also co-founded SiByte which made some of the best MIPS chips ever made.