Paul Otellini este unul dintre cei mai renumiti si apreciati presedinti de companie din SUA, el reusind sa transforme Intel in principalul producator de procesoare pentru calculatoare. Otellini a parasit recent functia de CEO al Intel si intr-un interviu acordat celor de la theatlantic el sustine ca unul dintre cele mai mari regrete este faptul ca nu a reusit sa transforme Intel in furnizorul de chip-uri pentru iDevice-uri. Fostul CEO Intel sustine ca inaintea lansarii iPhone-ului Apple a fost interesata sa cumpere chip-uri de la companie, insa era dispusa sa ofere un anumit pret care nu a fost agreat de Intel deoarece nu se stia cat succes vor avea produsele.
But, oh, what could have been! Even Otellini betrayed a profound sense of disappointment over a decision he made about a then-unreleased product that became the iPhone. Shortly after winning Apple’s Mac business, he decided against doing what it took to be the chip in Apple’s paradigm-shifting product.
“We ended up not winning it or passing on it, depending on how you want to view it. And the world would have been a lot different if we’d done it,” Otellini told me in a two-hour conversation during his last month at Intel. “The thing you have to remember is that this was before the iPhone was introduced and no one knew what the iPhone would do… At the end of the day, there was a chip that they were interested in that they wanted to pay a certain price for and not a nickel more and that price was below our forecasted cost. I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t one of these things you can make up on volume. And in hindsight, the forecasted cost was wrong and the volume was 100x what anyone thought.”
Pretul oferit de catre Apple era mai mic decat cel cerut de Intel, insa numarul mare de iDevice-uri vandute ar fi generat un profit serios pentru cei de la Intel, insa atunci nimeni nu stia cat de mult vor schimba aceste produse piata. Problema cu procesoarele Intel este ca ele nu administreaza energia la fel de eficient precum cele ARM, iar daca Apple le-ar fi ales, atunci acum am fi avut iDevice-uri mai groase cu baterii mai mari. Chiar daca in trecut Apple nu a colaborat cu Intel, in viitor exista posibilitatea sa o faca, mai ales dupa ruptura de Samsung si lansarea noilor procesoare mobile Intel.
