Intel ex-CEO: We really missed out on the iPhone

Intel ex-CEO: We really missed out on the iPhone

Intel's former CEO reflects on missed opportunities.

Corporate history is littered with bad business decisions, from the forgotten record label that passed on the Beatles (it’s Decca, for those keeping track) to Western Union’s failure to jump on the telephone phenomenon at the ground floor. But with Thursday’s news that Intel CEO Phil Otellini was stepping down from his post, another business blunder has been uncovered and added to the list: the failure of Intel to participate in the iPhone revolution.

According to CNET and The Atlantic, the Intel chief passed up an opportunity that would have brought his company’s computer chips and processors to the center of the iPhone. Apple offered a price that seemed too low for a company of Intel’s caliber, and Otellini passed. He had no idea how quickly and completely the iPhone would transform the cellphone landscape.

“At the end of the day, there was a chip that they were interested in that they wanted to pay a certain price for and not a nickel more and that price was below our forecasted cost,” Otellini said.

Intel’s blunder won’t make them another Decca–they’re still the dominating force in the PC computer chip business–but the company has had a hard time breaking into the increasingly vital cellphone market, and many will forever blame Otellini’s shortsighted decision for that. Even so, the now-former CEO admitted that something in the back of his mind told him to go for it when Apple came calling–he just wasn’t sure at the time that it would be the best business decision.

“My gut told me to say yes,” he reflected.

As he exits, Otellini hands the Intel reigns to manufacturing head Brian Krzanich, who will work to move the company into a new era–one that likely includes the cellphone and tablet markets as two of its primary concerns. However, before Intel can be a competitive player in the same storefronts that include Apple’s iPhone 5 and other increasingly popular phone models like the Samsung Galaxy S3, the company has to do something about its energy efficiency. More and more in today’s technological world, extended battery life is a make-or-break selling point, and Intel’s high-performance, battery-sucking processors may not be a fit for a phone device that needs to get through a work day or a cross-country road trip without a single charge.

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