英特尔欲重塑计算机

    一周前，因个人电脑需求疲软，英特尔（Intel）大幅下调公司三季度销售预期。现在，英特尔又召开年度开发者大会，承诺将重塑计算机。

    这家全球最大的芯片制造商公布了最新的处理器产品线——Haswell。这个系列的产品预计将在2013年面世。英特尔首席产品官浦大地表示，Haswell是英特尔酷睿处理器家族的新一代成员，功率更小，将使设备“更快、更轻薄、更出色”，同时具备更长的续航时间。

    浦大地在英特尔担任高管为时已久，他于周二上午在一场主题演讲中宣布了这一消息（有趣的是，英特尔首席执行官保罗•欧德宁并未出席）。英特尔试图强调即将面世的超极本的新功能，比如先进的语音和手势识别以及内置的近场无线通讯（NFC）。浦大地还展示了由英特尔驱动的混合型平板电脑和笔记本电脑，他表示人们需要不同尺寸的设备，并大力吹捧即将推出的搭载英特尔处理器的Windows 8设备。人们期待已久的搭载微软（Microsoft）新款操作系统的设备将从10月下旬开始陆续上市，不过现在就判断消费者们的反应还为时过早。

    与此同时，正如英特尔日前在其最新预测中所言，个人电脑的需求正在放缓。企业也在减少订购电脑，因此，制造商正在减少库存，而这影响到英特尔的销售状况（该公司现在预测本季度收入为129亿到135亿美元，此前的预测收入为138亿到148亿美元）。调研公司Forrester最近的一份报告称，在“Wintel”个人电脑和平板（即指由微软Windows操作系统与英特尔CPU所组成的个人计算机——译注）上的全球企业支出将在2012年下降3%，并在2013年保持稳定。

    英特尔在手机芯片市场面临更大的压力，目前该市场被竞争对手高通（Qualcomm）等公司主导。英特尔的智能手机战略没有任何新发展，不过，浦大地表示公司正在取得稳步进展，并已开始向五家手机厂商提供芯片。

    浦大地称：“我们将会有更多的合作伙伴，届时我们一定会向大家公布。”

    译者：项航

    A week after slashing its third-quarter sales forecast due to sluggish demand for PCs, Intel kicked off its annual developer conference with a promise to reinvent computing.

    The world's largest chipmaker unveiled its latest processor line, Haswell, due out in 2013. The next-generation, lower-power Intel Core processor family will enable "faster, thinner, better" devices and enable longer battery life, said David Perlmutter, Intel's chief product officer.

    Perlmutter, a long-time Intel (INTC) exec, delivered the news at a keynote address Tuesday morning (interestingly, company CEO Paul Otellini was a no-show). Intel tried to play up the new capabilities on upcoming ultrabooks, like advanced voice and gesture recognition and built-in NFC. Perlmutter also showed off Intel-powered hybrid tablets and laptops, saying people want different form factors, and touted upcoming Windows 8 devices that will be powered by Intel. Products that run on the long-awaited Microsoft (MSFT) operating system are expected to start launching in late October, so it's too early to tell how consumers will respond.

    Meanwhile, demand for PCs is slowing, as Intel recently said in its updated forecast. Corporations are ordering fewer PCs, and as a result manufacturers are reducing inventories, which cuts into Intel's sales (the company now expects revenue of between $12.9 billion and $13.5 billion in the current quarter, down from a previous forecast of between $13.8 billion and $14.8 billion). According to a recent report from Forrester Research, global corporate spending on "Wintel" PCs and tablets will be down by three percent in 2012 and flat in 2013.

    Intel's facing even more pressure in the mobile chip market, currently dominated by rival Qualcomm (QCOM) and other players. The company had nothing new to report on its smartphone strategy, though Perlmutter said they are making steady progress and are supplying chips to five phonemakers.

    "We are going to announce more partners when they come, and they're coming," said Perlmutter.