Damage control kicked into overdrive at the world’s largest chipmaker this week in the wake of comments from two Intel executives who had a field day badmouthing the iPhone and its embedded ARM processor during a public developer forum, apparently without the company’s blessing.

The gaffe prompted Intel’s senior vice president Anand Chandrasekher to publish a correction Thursday on his Chip Shots blog over the “inappropriate” comments made by its lower-level executives, who took turns whaling on the iPhone as a device incapable of providing true Internet access due to alleged limitations of its ARM-based microprocessor.

“It’s hard to see this as anything other than an formal apology to Apple and ARM for comments made by Intel’s Shane Wall and Pankaj Kedia at the company’s Intel Developer Forum in Taipei,” wrote CNet News.com’s Tom Krazit.

“Among other things, the executives resurrected Intel’s lame ‘ARM chips can’t handle the Internet’ argument and singled out the iPhone as an example of a smartphone that could be really awesome if it only used one of Intel’s low-power x86 architecture processors, known as Atom.”

In his correction, Chandrasekher attempted to distance the firm from the executives’ remarks and conceded that Atom has a long ways to go before it can attempt to rival the power efficiency and battery life characteristics that ARM chips provide for handheld devices, a key element of the processor architecture’s dominate use in over 90 percent of mobile phones worldwide.

He added that his subordinates had no business posturing Intel technology by criticizing the designs of partners, and even went one to praise the iPhone as an “innovative product” that has spawned broad market potential:

Anand Chandrasekher issued a correction on comments made by members of his team yesterday at Intel’s Developer Forum in Taiwan. As general manager of the Group responsible for Intel’s ultra-mobility products, he acknowledged that 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. Secondly, 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.

Unlike rival electronics and PC makers who largely follow Intel’s architectural lead, Apple has proven to be remarkably successful at beating to the sound of its own drum. It’s resisted Intel’s claims that x86 processors represent the clear architectural path to powering the future of mobile computing, and has instead acquired chip designer P.A. Semi to begin work on future generation of ARM-based SOCs for iPhones and iPods that will offer unique advantages, and further distance the company from its peers.

But as CNet’s Krazit points out, Intel’s apology raises the question of whether, after three years of unfettered cooperation, there’s a bit of bad blood brewing between the chipmaker and Apple over differences in their mobile hardware strategies.

In the end, “they’ll be fine, although Intel is sleeping on the couch tonight,” he wrote. “This week’s exercise, however, is an interesting example of how much power Apple wields over one of the most important and historic companies in technology.”

Intel is likely to be particularly conscious of its standing with Apple given that the Mac maker has recently replaced the Intel controller chipsets it has used ever since its transition to Intel CPUs in 2006 with a new more powerful controller from NVIDIA in its latest line of top selling MacBooks.

via. AppleInsider

Any speed shortcomings in Apple’s iPhone were the fault of its rival chipset manufacturer ARM, a senior Intel executive said in Taiwan yesterday.

“The shortcomings of the iPhone are not because of Apple,” Intel’s director of ecosystems for its ultra-mobility group Pankaj Kedia said at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei, Taiwan. “The shortcomings of the iPhone have come from ARM.”

The comment followed statements from Shane Wall, Intel’s VP, mobility group and director strategic planning, platform architecture and software, ultra-mobility group, on the device’s lack of oomph. “Any sort of application that requires any horse power at all and the iPhone struggles,” he said.

He said that although Apple did try to tackle the internet and achieved a massive buzz due to, according to Wall, great user interface and Apple chief Steve Job’s ability to sell, the hyped device fell short in a number of areas.

Kedia didn’t just stop at the iPhone, claiming ARM was a malaise afflicting smartphones in general. “The smartphone of today is not very smart,” he said. “The problem they have today is they use ARM.”

The discussion came after Wall’s keynote. “If you want to run full internet, you’re going to have to run an Intel-based architecture,” he had said, claiming that Intel processors achieved two to three times the performance of ARM equivalents.

Wall believed the situation was unlikely to change anytime soon, saying Intel was two years ahead of the rival company. He didn’t believe fast, full internet would receive a debut with ARM-based devices in the near future. “Even if they do have full capability, the performance will be so poor,” he said.

Kedia agreed. “I know what their roadmap is, I know where they’re going and I’m not worried.”

Suzanne Tindal travelled to Taipei as a guest of Intel.

via. ZDnet.com.au

The world’s first Moorestown prototype hit the stage at Intel’s Taipei, Developer Forum in the hands of Intel Vice-President Anand Chandrasekher

“Technology innovation is the catalyst for new user experiences, industry collaborations and business models that together will shape the next 40 years,” said Chandrasekher. “As the next billion people connect to and experience the Internet, significant opportunities lie in the power of technology and the development of purpose-built devices that deliver more targeted computing needs and experiences.”

Chandrasekher cited the Intel? Atom? processor, the upcoming “Nehalem” processor, and the Intel “Moorestown” platform scheduled for the 2009-2010 timeframe as prime examples of innovation and technology leadership. Also highlighted was the progress Intel is making in the Mobile Internet Devices (MID) market segment with the world’s first working “Moorestown” platform demonstration.

Moorestown comprises of an SOC, codenamed “Lincroft,” which integrates the 45nm processor, graphics, memory controller and video encode/decode onto a single chip and an I/O hub codenamed “Langwell”, which supports a range of I/O ports to connect with wireless, storage, and display components in addition to incorporating several board level functions. Chandrasekher stated that Intel is on track to reduce Moorestown platform idle power by more than 10x compared to the first-generation MIDs based on the Intel Atom processor.

Chandrasekher said that Moorestown will be a catalyst for exciting and innovative developments that will extend the full Internet experience into the smartphone space with the Communication MID. He indicated that Moorestown platforms will support a range of wireless technologies including 3G, WiMAX, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and mobile TV. Additionally, Chandrasekher announced a collaboration with Ericsson* for HSPA data modules optimized for the Moorestown platform. He also announced that Option* is extending its collaboration for HSPA modules to the Moorestown platform. These 3G modules come in 25×30x2.x mm small size, are optimized for Moorestown power requirements and will help provide MID users with more powerful, always connected Internet-based experiences.