Intel Lands Veteran of Palm and Apple for Smartphone Effort

Intel is not known for bringing in many outsiders at senior positions, tending to promote long-timers steeped in the chip maker’s ways of doing things. But becoming a credible contender in smartphones is a challenge that demands unusual tactics, and the company’s disclosure Friday that it has hired Mike Bell is a case in point.


How can Intel, which makes chips rather than cellphones, use talents like Bell’s? The company has long faced a big disadvantage in getting its technology into user’s pockets, largely because its chips draw more power than those of companies that license designs from ARM Holdings. Intel is gradually closing that gap, but even assuming they achieved parity the company will have to convince software developers, hardware makers and ultimately consumers that there are real differentiating factors to justify a technology switch. LINK