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December 15, 2008
ABI Ranks Intel as Top Vendor in UMPC Platform Vendor Matrix
By Nitya Prashant, TMCnet Contributor
ABI Research has released an evaluation of the worldwide ultra-mobile PC platform vendors (UMPC). According to ABI’s Vendor Matrix, Intel (News - Alert) Corporation claims the top vendor spot while Via Technologies and Texas Instruments have claimed second and third places respectively.
Explaining the evaluation process, principal analyst Philip Solis said, ”As more expensive vertical market-focused devices, UMPCs rely on the ability to run Windows so that existing enterprise applications can be used on them. This favors Intel and Via, helping secure their first and second rankings.
ABI officials said the Vendor Matrix was an analytical tool developed by the company to study and estimate vendors' positions in specific markets. Vendors are assessed on the important parameters of "innovation" and "implementation" across several industry-specific criteria unique to each vendor matrix, they added.
For the UMPC matrix, ABI evaluated different features under the “innovation", criteria, analysts said. Among the features taken into consideration was how quickly the vendor was able to bring their product to market. Vendors who had a faster turnaround period for market entry received a higher ranking.
The flexibility of the vendors’ solutions or designs was also considered while determining the “innovation” parameter. ABI analysts said a more flexible solution would allow for substitution of most parts of the design with similar parts whereas a less flexible solution which is well integrated may not allow for customization.
According to ABI, the Vendor Matrix also evaluates whether the platform solution includes connectivity solutions by bundling of WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Networking), WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) and/or GPS and also if the platform is based on an x86 processor or Cortex A-8 or higher. ABI officials added that ARM11 and lower processors are not as competitive in terms of performance.
The product is also assessed on its ability to support 720p HD video or higher, which is likely to be in increasing demand for the display of multimedia.
Explaining how vendors were judged under the "implementation," parameter, ABI Research (News - Alert) said the vendors' announced design wins combined with the significance of each win was an important parameter in determining the vendors’ ranking. Higher profile design wins carried more weight since they will usually lead to more shipments, officials said.
Another important criterion was the vendors’ experience with CE and mobile device vendors, which reflected their existing relationships with consumer electronics and mobile device vendors. This in turn meant more design wins for UMDs with these types of companies. ABI analysts said the matrix similarly evaluates the vendors’ experience with PC vendors.
Other features used to form the matrix include the platform vendor's ability to support all full PC OS, which in turn would be decided by the capability to produce an x86-based platform. ABI analysts that the platform vendor's ability to support all lower level OS would be dictated by the capability to produce an ARM- based platform.
Solis also added, “Ubuntu (News - Alert) being ported to ARMv7, and the increasing number of ARMv7-based platforms offer alternatives as long as more enterprise software vendors take Linux seriously.”
The UMPC Platform Vendor Matrix is part of ABI Research’s MIDs and Mobile CE Research Service.
ABI Research is a market research firm focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. Utilizing a blend of market intelligence, primary research, and expert assessment from its global team of industry analysts, ABI Research assists hundreds of clients each year with their strategic growth initiatives.
Nitya Prashant is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Nitya's articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Jessica Kostek
