But that doesn't mean Intel doesn't think it can crack into the market. "To say that Intel has no opportunity is lunacy," Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of Nvidia, told Fortune. "But this marketplace doesn't need x86 [Intel architecture] as much and that's why their capabilities and strengths aren't as important in this market." Huang is a long-time Intel rival and the two companies settled a bruising lawsuit early last year.
Intel execs say a lead in manufacturing and unique technology built into its new Medfield processors will help give it an edge. To that end, the company has been showing off a prototype device that can capture 15 pictures with 8-megapixel quality in less than a second. "We're not using process as a crutch," Intel's Bell said on Tuesday. "I think we have a fundamental technology advantage that others don't have. We have really smart people and a history of doing this over and over again. The process technology is gravy. It's fantastic gravy."