"interactive refrigerators and smart kiosks to security cameras and IoT gateways."
I can't see a strong advantage for Intel here. I don't think there's anyway a modular solution can compete with an integrated design using low cost ARM SOCs (typically <= 1USD for something capable of running Linux in China).
I was kind of hoping this would be targeted at high density server applications, which could be interesting but doesn't seem to be the case.
Smart kiosks? Really? It's 2017, not 1995.
Intel can keep screwing around with this stuff while Qualcomm+NXP+Freescale slowly captures the rest of the market they don't have yet.
Just embed a tablet with an app in a kiosk.
- Not everyone has smart phones, do they? I mean, maybe 95% do, but it's still pretty harsh on the 5% to just abandon them altogether
- Your phone might not have any power
- A mall directory board is maybe ~20 times bigger than my phone - MUCH easier to use
- Much harder to locate whatever website I'm supposed to use than just walking up to a screen which is already displaying the correct 'site' and doesn't pop up all sorts of notifications / start ringing in the middle of your interaction / allow you to get distracted by a million and one other things.
I was actually in a mall the other day, looking for a video directory board and couldn't find one. I'm not convinced there wasn't one, but I had my phone on me, tried to find useful info. on what I thought was the mall's website, and just gave up.
Complete directories and inside maps for 1250 malls.
Search is easier to use than scanning the giant board, as is having the info where you are instead of having to hunt for a board.
I wonder at what point LCD / LED panels will be so cheap the outside of your fridge is just one panel per door. We already have fridges with cameras inside, so maybe at some point you can browse the fridge without opening it.
Talk about over-engineering! What about glass?!
At home.. who needs it? The inside of your fridge is probably the messiest looking surface in your kitchen, why show it off?
While that's true, most merchandiser refrigerators (as they are known - also "display coolers" is a term) use dual-pane glass on the doors (and I wouldn't be surprised to find triple-pane either).
I've been looking into one of these for a while now; my wife and I want to get one to replace our current side-by-side, because we hardly ever use the freezer side, and we already have a chest freezer in our garage anyhow. The problem hasn't been the cost (commercial fridges aren't really much more expensive than consumer units), but the size - they are too tall for the area we have (without mods to our cabinets). Of course, we have found that new consumer fridges have the same problem!
Our house was built in the early-1970s (block construction, copper wiring and water pipes, and no HOA - so if I want to weld in the front yard on my vehicle while it's on jack-stands overnight - NFG), and so it has the old-style "crappy cabinet over the fridge" area - so we are limited by that, unless we take it out - which may end up being the solution.
The only other downside to a commercial unit is the fact that the warranty is instantly voided if you buy one and install it for home use. Furthermore, service is more expensive (part, labor, and the whole nine yards). Still, it should be more reliable in the long run, which is what we want. We did the same thing recently with our microwave, purchasing a standard Sharp branded commercial unit that nearly every restaurant and food service place uses; they are super-tough, and much better quality than a consumer unit. Easy to wipe out, and only one control (100% power, one knob for up to 6 minutes). We haven't had a problem adapting to it - it's so much nicer, and stainless steel!
How much money is there really to be made catering to the poorest of the poor, given Intel's position in the supply chain? Intel is a multi-billion dollar company - they didn't get there by caring about poor people, and they won't move the needle on billions in earnings by starting now.
(PS I am quite happy to have lowebot follow me home and help me find my glasses.)