Caught between the mobile wave that may swamp its boat and the slowing PC market that may leave it marooned, Intel has set up a new Mobile and Communications Group to chase after ARM and its minions and crack the smartphone and tablet markets.
The unit combines four existing divisions: netbooks and tablets, ultra mobility (smartphone processors), mobile communications (baseband) and mobile wireless (Wi-Fi).
The idea, it said, is to “speed up and improve the development process.”
At least there’ll be less duplicated effort, but what Intel needs and quickly is a winning energy-efficient design.
It’s supposed to have a new Atom mobile chip code named Medfield early next year. The widget and Intel’s alliance with Google to optimize Android for the Atom may or may not improve its traction (while its old buddy Microsoft cozies up to ARM and ports Windows 8 to its architecture).
The new group will be run two-in-box by Hermann Eul, once a top Infineon executive, and Mike Bell, who used to work at Apple on the iPhone and joined Intel last year from Palm.
Bell has co-managed the old ultra mobility unit since March and after Intel acquired Infineon and before his latest apotheosis, Eul was running Intel’s Mobile Communications Division, created out of Infineon.
Fortune broke the reorg story Wednesday morning when Intel sent out an internal memo and Intel confirmed it.
Earlier this week, Intel cut its Q4 guidance on reduced orders caused by the hard drive shortage created by the crippling floods in Thailand.
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