I think Intel's tablet ambitions and their larger Atom ambitions died because they tied them to Microsoft. The Atom could have been bundled as an easy to integ

I think Intel's tablet ambitions and their larger Atom ambitions died because they tied them to Microsoft. The Atom could have been bundled as an easy to integrate SoC for things like set top boxes, routers, and smart devices running Linux/Android The sort of uses that go for MediaTek or AllWinner ARM SoCs. Intel had all the peripheral IPs to make competitive offerings. Instead they put the Windows millstone around the Atoms' neck and the chip sucked. Intel based tablets sucked because Windows was a dog shit OS for low end devices. The few Atom based Android tablets that got made were pretty decent devices. I've got a bunch of Bay Trail devices lying around. The ones I've put Linux on end up being very useful little devices that run very well. My Windows Bay Trail tablets are just e-waste at this point. They're difficult to use at best and typically just slow pieces of crap.