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Intel to chip in TV products
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 08 January 2009, 00:02 IST
Bangalore: As consumers opt for hi-tech television to surf the web, chat with friends and shop online, Intel plans to introduce chips for the cable and satellite boxes. The chipmaker is seen to re-enter the market to constrain on complete reliance on the personal computers.
The plans for the company's re-entry might have to struggle amidst more-established competitors, as the recession builds a favorable position for them in the semiconductor market. "Intel faces competition from companies such as Broadcom, which sells cheaper chips for set-top boxes. Intel's product will cost about $30, as much as three times the price of rival offerings," said Christopher Danely, an analyst at JPMorgan. Shane Rau, an analyst for research firm IDC also pinpoints that the chipmaker will not win significant sales until after 2010, when it learns to make the chips more cheaply. Moreover, the computer functions may not catch on with average TV viewers soon and remain a hobby through 2009.
Earlier, Intel had stepped into the home-entertainment market four years ago, developing a technology called Viiv that let computers connect to televisions. The idea failed to catch on. So, the firm now aims to bring internet capabilities to TVs while keeping the devices easier to use than PCs. The detailed discussion on the device will be done at the Consumer Electronics Show.