Repeated talk of Intel delaying Ivy Bridge to June was supported by a conversation with executive VP Sean Maloney. He told the FT that it had been moved back eight to ten weeks, from April to June. Contrary to some claims, though, it wasn’t due to low demand but rather out of time getting the 22-nanometer chip manufacturing process up to speed.
Earlier tips had Intel shipping a small number of processors in and around April, mostly desktop chips and quad-core mobile parts. Maloney didn’t directly rule this out, but made it sound doubtful that any would arrive before June.
A broader delay wouldn’t completely affect companies like HP or Lenovo, some of whom had already said they would only start shipping their first Ivy Bridge-based systems in mid-to-late spring. It may quash most expectations of significant Mac updates before June, however, with only the Sandy Bridge-based Xeon E5 poised to arrive earlier in a possible Mac Pro refresh.
Maloney, in the meantime, in his position of chairman of Intel’s China division predicted that it would only take two to three years for every cellphone in China to be a smartphone. Costs were going to keep lowering to where it was realistic for everyone to get a smartphone, he said. Android is increasingly dominating the Chinese market as it’s usable on devices that cost $200 or less off-contract.
