The aftermath
NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang says Intel sells one of its Atom CPUs for $45 if you buy it by itself, but the price drops to $25 if you buy the CPU and the chipset - which includes integrated graphics - according to Reuters.
The vested interest Huang has in this matter takes the form of NVIDIA's ION graphics chip, designed specifically to work with Atom and which offers superior performance to Intel's own graphics for Atom.
However, if OEMs are heavily incentivised to buy Intel's integrated graphics whenever they buy an Atom, they're effectively being lured away from ION, is the core of Huang's complaint. "That seems pretty unfair. We ought to be able to compete and serve that market," he said
Huang has chosen the aftermath of Intel's record fine for anti-competitive business practices to raise this issue, presumably in the hope that Intel is now feeling more sensitive to accusations of it using its market dominance to stifle competition.
Intel countered that customers still have the option of buying Atom by itself, and hence bundles are not forced upon computer makers. Huang said he plans no legal action for now, but added portentously: "I hope it doesn't come down to that. We have to do whatever we have to do when the time comes. We really hope this company will compete on a fair basis."
