Intel Loses More Ground, Part Deux

In a move that signals more internal problems at Intel fab plants, plans to introduce dual-core processors have been pushed back to “2006″-

Intel to Ship Dual-Core Xeon in 2006

Company denies the chip has been delayed, but many had expected it sooner

Intel plans to ship its first Xeon processors based on a new dual-core architecture in 2006, company officials said this week, a disclosure that surprised industry observers who had expected the chips to appear in 2005.

Last month, Intel President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini seemed to indicate that the company planned to release its first dual-core Xeon next year. “In 2005, Intel will ship dual-core products into every one of our key segments of the marketplace: Desktop, servers, and mobile products in production next year,” he said, speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

However, Otellini’s remarks did not refer to the company’s Xeon plans, says Mike Houlihan, an Intel spokesperson. “There’s definitely no schedule change,” he says. “We just hadn’t disclosed a schedule previously.”

Read More…

This seems to fly in the face of this story from Sept. 8th that indicates that the chips were expected sooner than that-

Furthermore, by 2006, the majority of chips sold for desktop and notebook PCs, as well as server computers, will be using the new dual-core or multicore microprocessors’ architecture, Intel’s President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini said Tuesday [Sept. 7th -Ed]

Intel’s take at the time?

This is not a race, guys. This is a sea change in computing,” he said. “I’m very happy to see that our primary competitor is also embracing this move. It shows we’ve picked the right move.

In other words, “our primary competitor” is now leading the way and Intel is following.

We’ll see where this goes, but if I worked at Intel, I wouldn’t be counting on a big Christmas bonus…