October 23, 2008, 9:51 PM — Intel distanced itself from criticism of Apple's iPhone made by executives at the company's Intel Developer Forum conference in Taipei, saying the comments were not appropriate. The chip maker also acknowledged its own products weren't yet suitable for such a product.
Earlier this week, Intel executives Shane Wall and Pankaj Kedia described the iPhone as slow and said the popular handset wasn't able to run the "full Internet" because it uses an Arm processor, instead of an Intel chip. The executives comments -- which neglected to note that Intel doesn't make a low-power processor capable of powering a handset like the iPhone -- were reported by ZDNet Australia, causing consternation within Intel's PR ranks.
"Apple's iPhone offering is an extremely innovative product that enables new and exciting market opportunities. The statements made in Taiwan were inappropriate, and Intel representatives should not have been commenting on specific customer designs," the company said in a statement posted on its Chip Shots Web site.
Intel also admitted its own chips are not yet capable of running a device like the iPhone.
"Intel's low-power Atom processor does not yet match the battery life characteristics of the Arm processor in a phone form factor; and, that while Intel does have plans on the books to get us to be competitive in the ultra low power domain -- we are not there as yet," the statement said.
The comments by Wall and Kedia are at odds with other statements by Intel executives, who generally lavish praise on the iPhone for its design and success in giving users easy access to the Internet. The remarks may have also put Intel in a difficult spot with Apple, since Intel is widely believed to be hopeful that Apple will use its low-power processors in future products.
