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Intel wants your living room
CEO kicks off effort to put the chip maker directly into the fight for consumers.
LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney.com) - Intel is officially launching the war for the "digital living room." The centerpiece of the campaign? Viiv, a new chip designed to power entertainment PCs, which CEO Paul Otellini officially debuted late Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in here. Viiv-based PCs come with a remote control that can click a machine on and off like a TV and toggle back and forth between media applications like music and video. Consumers can also record, pause and rewind programs – DVR-like functionality.
"Viiv is about putting the consumer in control," said Otellini in a keynote speech at the CES show. "What I think consumers really want is online content from their living room, on their couch, or while they're sitting on the bed." Echoing Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' keynote the previous evening, Otellini repeatedly used the phrase "the new normal" to describe his vision for how consumers will access media at home through entertainment PCs. It's a bold bet for Intel, heretofore known as an "ingredient brand" that supplied chips to PC makers and let them handle the end user's experience. To sell the Viiv concept Otellini secured content deals with Direct TV; he also announced a deal with ESPN for a service called ESPNMotion which automatically downloads high-definition highlights of users' favorite sports events. Also, there is a deal with Turner's GameTap (like CNN/Money, Turner Broadcasting is a division of Time Warner). Otellini said there are now 110 computer makers making Viiv-based machines, some available for as little as $900. Some are already available as of today; others will be available in the next few weeks. with wide array of form factors. All the systems here are either available today or in the next few weeks – and he said you can pretty much order them immediately. Otellini also announced Core Duo, the new chip previously code-named "Yonah," which features "dual core" processing technology. This means that one chip essentially has two brains and can handle many more tasks simultaneously than single-core processors. Core Duo is "our first new premium brand since Pentium" , according to Otellini, who said the company is already set to ship the millionth Core Duo processor in the next three weeks. Intel's new message has been both instantaneous and ubiquitous at CES; conference-goers first saw Intel's new message in the baggage claim area of Las Vegas's McCarren International Airport, festooned with giant Intel banners featuring slogans such as "How do you fit the world into your living room?" A little over a year ago, Intel poached Eric Kim from Samsung to spearhead the new marketing effort. Analysts believe Intel hired Kim, who boosted Samsung's consumer electronics business in the U.S., to do the same thing for Intel. Kim's agenda so far has been swift and sweeping. He scrapped Intel's three decades old logo and changed its slogan, "Intel Inside," with a new slogan, "Leap Ahead". While the hot couple at CES was Intel and Microsoft, industry watchers are eagerly awaiting next week's MacWorld Expo, where it is widely rumored that Apple will debut the first Intel-based Macs several months ahead of schedule. There is also speculation that the company may roll out new Mac minis, its low-cost line, with FrontRow software, Apple's media software. That could pose an instant threat to Microsoft in the battle for consumer homes. One analyst at the conference said that while Intel is probably wearing "Microsoft's engagement ring" for the benefit of the Viiv launch, he believes Intel will not be adverse to running other software programs on the Viiv platform.
Viiv-based PCs could also face competition from devices such as the Xbox 360 that serve the same functions. |
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