Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) Tablet Market Growing, Notebooks More Important

Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) noted the growth of the tablet market in 2011 for their Atom processor, with over 35 tablets being identified as committed to using the Intel chip.

Even with that growth though, Intel CEO Paul Otellini reminded attendants at Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference that notebooks are still far more important to the company than tablets.

Using the sales of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as a backdrop, Otellini contrasted the 4 million iPads sold in the last quarter against the million notebooks sold on a daily basis.

He said, "I think it's easy to forget about how important laptops are to people's lives."

Much of that comes from the inherent part of the tech market where the media loves to always focus on the next big thing, even when it doesn't come close to the performance of the existing technology, and possibly never will.

Even so, knowing their is some growth in tablets, Intel has officially launched a new division to focus on the segment.

As far as the performance of Intel, Otellini said the firm "remains on track for our best year ever as a company," using that as an opportunity to bring up the introduction of its next-generation microprocessor, Sandy Bridge, which he called "best product we've ever built."

Sand Bridge is scheduled to launch in January in Las Vegas, and will compete directly against AMD's Fusion.

As for the smartphone strategy of the company, Otellini said top-branded smartphones with Intel chips in them won't be launched until the second half of 2011, pushed back from the original expectations of a release in the first half of 2011.