1. Intel is safe for the foreseeable future, they have a unique position as far as manufacturing and processes go.
2. I suspect the engineering barriers in developing an OMAP class processor are much lower than what AMD has to deal with it in x86 and graphics markets. There is a large amount of off the shelf IP for mobile application processors and they have lots of internal knowledge they could use to customize the ICs (graphics, core architecture).
The problem there is that I'm not sure who the buyers are - the two giants (Apple and Samsung) are making their own processors, so unless you're making cut price ICs (a very crowded market) you are somewhat limited. I don't think the Tegra is bad from a technical standpoint, it's just that the number of really high volume customers is not infinite.
Nevertheless I'd love to see AMD stepping away from the x86 game into a wide ARM portfolio. I'm sure ARM would play ball, it'd be a major win for them and with ATI's graphics/hpc expertise we could see killer solutions.
That might not last as long as you think. Apparently Global Foundries thinks it can reach parity with FinFET 14 nm chips in 2014, which is Intel's (new) timeline as well. I think this is happening because of 2 reasons: Intel has experienced delays of a few months with every latest generation, and GloFo also found a shortcut to the 14nm process:
"By moving to 14nm finfet while keeping 20nm interconnect, GF has brought forward the introduction of its 14nm process by one year."
2. I suspect the engineering barriers in developing an OMAP class processor are much lower than what AMD has to deal with it in x86 and graphics markets. There is a large amount of off the shelf IP for mobile application processors and they have lots of internal knowledge they could use to customize the ICs (graphics, core architecture).
The problem there is that I'm not sure who the buyers are - the two giants (Apple and Samsung) are making their own processors, so unless you're making cut price ICs (a very crowded market) you are somewhat limited. I don't think the Tegra is bad from a technical standpoint, it's just that the number of really high volume customers is not infinite.
Nevertheless I'd love to see AMD stepping away from the x86 game into a wide ARM portfolio. I'm sure ARM would play ball, it'd be a major win for them and with ATI's graphics/hpc expertise we could see killer solutions.