Tech-a-holic was among the invitees to Intel’s recent round table discussion on its 2014 tech predictions. The company’s country chief, Indika*, led us through some of Intel’s achievements of the year before explaining it was planning it to set its sights for the upcoming year. In sum, most of the predications seemed to be a continuation or evolution of successful tech trends that emerged much earlier.

Examples of these trends include the changing PC landscape - moving from desktops and laptops to ultrabooks and 2-1 machines – and the creation and utilization of big data systems across different industries and policy environments. While Intel did not release any tech bombshells, it did provide tantalising hints about its new targets for the upcoming year.

2013 – Year in Review

For Intel, 2013 marked the mainstream emergence of 2-1 convertible devices and the much praised “inspired by Intel” Ultrabooks that streamlined the features of ultrabooks across different manufacturers.  These devices are Intel’s response to the growing disenchantment with the traditional bulky desktops and laptops of yesteryear.

By combining the superior performance of conventional desktops/laptops with the portability of tablet PCs, Intel seeks to retain its dominance in the market for processors. Yet, it hasn’t taken its eye off the bigger prizes.

Hybrid devices can only get the company so far and while there are plenty of admirers of 2-1 devices and the new range of the super-sleek touch-enabled ultrabooks, Intel will need to expand its presence into the tablet and smartphone markets as well, which continue to record amazing growth.

Intel’s energy intensive processors were the chief reason the company failed to gain a firm foothold in this arena, which ARM, its chief rival, dominates thanks to its energy efficient designs. However, in response Intel created two lines of processors: Haswell (4th generation processors designed for ultrabooks, desktops, laptops, etc.), and the new Atom processors Z3000.

Both types of processors mark significant energy savings. The Atom processor was completely redesigned for use on tablets and smartphones after serious energy enhancements (~3x more peak performance or the same performance at ~5x lower power over current-generation Intel Atom processors).

Atom processors have already made a splash on a variety of smartphones and tablets, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (although it used the 32nm variant). The upcoming year, Intel promises that its processors will be featured on a wider variety of mainstream devices, and while no specific names were mentioned it would represent a significant win if any of the major manufacturers opt for an Atom processor on their upcoming smartphone releases (like the S5 for instance or Nexus 6).

The greater collection and utilisation of big data also featured a prominent space in its year in review. The company featured a number of examples as to how big data collection was used to create smarter solutions to everyday problems from traffic management to utility monitoring.

2014- The year to come in the eyes of Intel

Intel makes four key predictions for the upcoming year: increased connectivity to boost the economy, education evolution with ICT, increased interaction with hardware, and a greater reliance on big data output.

These aren’t really predictions so much as a continuation of existing trends. This is not entirely surprising, because using a crystal ball to navigate through the tech-world is often a futile and unrewarding business. Increased connectivity is not a new point and we can expect a greater output from the ICT industry than ever before as smart devices, combined with apps and other services continue to grow and increase revenues.

The education evolution, however, is quite interesting, especially when looking at Intel’s role. The company has helped teach over 40,000 teachers (of 220,000). The subject oriented teaching approach, coupled together with innovative distance learning solutions and competitions, seems to be gathering steam according to Intel. Moreover, I was told that currently over 6000 schools are ICT are enabled and there are plans to make this island-wide.

Of course, this is not restricted to Sri Lanka and the fact that distance learning is going mainstream is an increasingly positive sign as capabilities to deliver high-quality education help improve the living standards of those formerly without access to basic education facilities.

Increased interaction with hardware also came up and while Intel does not have any plans to create a standardise system similar to Google Glass, it is monitoring the emerging market for wearable technology. The company is also focusing on interaction that is more mundane, involving systems for everyday appliances at home.

The goal is to create fully connected households in the near future. This has its own set of benefits but won’t happen overnight. Instead, one could firmly predict that this prediction will be on Intel’s 2015 list too and maybe for many years afterwards. Focus also remains on new and upcoming technology such as 3D printing, which could revolutionise consumer markets around the world.

Tantalising Tech Hints
 

Hits and Misses – When asked about Intel’s disappointments, it seemed the failure to enter the tablet and smartphone earlier still hung heavily on its mind. However, apart from that, the company seemed quite confident about its predictions.
 

Replacement for silicone? – We all know that silicone is not something Intel can use as it keeps shrinking the size of its chips in accordance to Moore’s law. However, the company still has not decided on a substitute for silicone. It did mention that was looking at a variety of options including carbon-nanotubes and grapheme (whose creators won the Nobel Prize in 2010).
Moore’s law remains law.

Despite rumours, the audience was assured that Intel did not foresee any disturbances to the predictions of Moore’s law. This means we can continue to see smaller, more powerful and energy efficient processors entering the market in the predictable “tick-tock” model the company has built over the decades. Let’s hope it doesn’t miss a beat.





By Navam Niles