Portable PCs face being squeezed by ARM-based "media tablets", according to a report by market research firm IDC.
IDC predicts that shipments of media tablets - which it defines as gizmos based on ARM processors and running lightweight operating systems like the Android and iPhone OS - will rise to 46 million units by 2014.
IDC expects 7.6 million media tablets to ship this year.
The growth between now and projected shipments in 2014 represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.4 percent. IDC thinks 398 million portable PCs will be shipped in 2014.
If IDC's predictions are correct, that will give Intel something of a headache. It wants to dominate the media tablet sector too, and recently released a Moorestown processor which it hopes will grab design wins. ARM-based designs are typically tiny and consume little power, a little like ARM's CEO, pictured here (not full size).
Media tablets, said IDC, will provide a broad range of applications and connectivity, making them different from single function devices like e-readers.
While media tablets will start off being marketed as multifunction entertainment devices, IDC believes that there will be productivity applications for supporting both enterprise users and end users.
Whoops, you mean you don't need the power of an Intel i7 for most everyday Internet access and multimedia needs? Wow, that's gonna put a crimp in Intel's plans!
</sarcasm>
Like IBM and Microsoft, Intel is finding out that a business model and operations plan optimized for one aspect of the computer industry isn't necessarily going to work for ALL aspects of the computer industry.
Interoperability, that's the key. Don't care what it uses under the hood, as long as it does what I want and can be part of the whole kanoodle.