Intel 2004 Annual Report Download - page 29

Table of Contents
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(Continued)
Both of our operating segments use their core competencies in the design and manufacture of integrated circuits, as well as key silicon
and platform capabilities, to provide building blocks for technology solutions. The Intel Architecture business provides advanced technologies
to support the desktop, mobile and enterprise computing market segments. The Intel Communications Group (ICG) focuses on flash memory
products, wired and wireless connectivity products, application processors, cellular baseband chipsets, and key components for networking and
communications infrastructure devices. In 2004, the company combined its communications-related businesses into a single organization, ICG.
Previously, these communications businesses were in two separate product-line operating segments: the former Intel Communications Group
and the Wireless Communications and Computing Group (WCCG).
In January 2005, we announced a planned reorganization of our business groups to bring all major product groups in line with the
company’s strategy to drive development of complete technology platforms. These new business units include the Mobility Group, the Digital
Enterprise Group, the Digital Home Group, the Digital Health Group and the Channel Platforms Group. We expect this reorganization to
become effective in 2005. Because the reporting period for this Form 10-K is as of December 25, 2004, the operating segments discussed in
this MD&A are presented under the organizational structure that existed as of December 25, 2004. Our strategy discussed in this Form 10-K
may undergo some changes as the reorganization takes effect.
Intel Architecture Business
The Intel Architecture business develops platform solutions based on our microprocessors, chipsets and board-level products, which are
optimized for use in the desktop, mobile and server computing market segments. As devices continue to be developed that take advantage of
converged computing and communications capabilities and digital content, our goal is to continue to deliver processors with improved
performance. Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology (HT Technology), which can enable an improved multitasking user environment, and Intel
®
Centrino
™
mobile technology, which can enhance the mobile computing experience, are examples of the features we offer in our products that
can improve performance. In addition, we believe that system security and reliability features at the hardware level will facilitate an enhanced
computing experience for users, and we are working to provide these capabilities in future products.
To deliver processors with the next level of performance, we have focused our efforts on providing dual- and multi-core microprocessors
in the future. Dual- and multi-core microprocessors will incorporate two or more processor cores on a single chip, rather than just one
microprocessor core. These products are expected to complement our effort to enable more capabilities, performance and flexibility for users
beyond processor speed. To deliver processors with the next level of performance in the near term, we are working to increase the size of the
built-in data-storage capacity on the chip, known as cache memory. Larger amounts of cache memory allow for faster performance at
equivalent processor speeds by allowing faster data retrieval for applications that can effectively use additional cache memory.
For the desktop market segment, our strategy is to introduce microprocessors and chipsets with improved performance tailored to the
needs of different market segments using a tiered branding approach. For the performance desktop market segment, we offer the Intel
®
Pentium
®
4 processor family of products. For the desktop value market segment, we offer the Intel
®
Celeron
®
processor family of products.
Each of these families of products has complementary chipset products.
For the mobile market segment, our strategy is to deliver products optimized for some or all of the four mobility vectors: performance,
battery life, form factor (the physical size and shape of a device) and wireless connectivity. For performance mobility users, we offer Intel
Centrino mobile technology, designed and optimized specifically for the four key vectors of mobility. The newest version of Intel Centrino
mobile technology, formerly code-named “Sonoma,” consists of an Intel
®
Pentium
®
M processor and a chipset from the Mobile Intel
®
915
Express chipset family (both offered by the Intel Architecture business) as well as a wireless connection (from ICG) that is based on the 802.11
industry standard. For portable PC users who want systems with near-desktop features, including improved performance, larger screens, full-
size keyboards and multiple hard drives, we offer the Mobile Intel
®
Pentium
®
4 processor. In addition, for the mobile value market segment,
we offer the Intel
®
Celeron
®
M processor and the Mobile Intel
®
Celeron
®
processor.
Our strategy for the enterprise market segment is to provide processors and chipsets with improved performance as well as competitive
price for performance for entry-level to high-end servers and workstations. These products address the needs of various levels of data
processing and compute-intensive applications. Our Intel
®
Xeon
™
processor family of products supports a range of entry-level to high-end
technical and commercial computing applications for the workstation and server market segments. Our Intel
®
Itanium
®
processor family,
which includes the Intel
®
Itanium
®
2 processor, generally supports an even higher level of computing performance for data processing, the
handling of high transaction volumes and other compute-intensive applications for enterprise-class servers, as well as supercomputing
solutions.
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