SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The International Consumer Electronics Show came to close yesterday in Las Vegas. The show is a show, meant to be a happy time - part business, part performance, lots of partying. And it's a time to put on a good show, even if you're not certain about the future of your company. The CEO of Intel, the chipmaker, is in exactly that awkward position. NPR's Aarti Shahani takes a look at why.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RADIOACTIVE")
IMAGINE DRAGONS: (Singing) Welcome to the new age, to the new age.
AARTI SHAHANI, BYLINE: It's show time. Only at this week-long gadget fest the musicians aren't the rage, the engineers are.
(APPLAUSE)
(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)
(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)
SHAHANI: The opening night headliner is the CEO of Intel Corporation.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: So ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming back to the...
SHAHANI: A man named Brian Krzanich. Tens of thousands of people expect to be dazzled and Krzanich steps up to dazzle us with this.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRIAN KRZANICH: Nixie, the first wearable camera that can fly.
SHAHANI: Meet Nixie, the must-have drone whose legs can fold around your wrist like a watchband. And when you want that selfie from the sky, unclasp it so it can hover around you and shoot.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
KRZANICH: Now, those of you in the audience, get your cameras ready because we're about to witness history here.
SHAHANI: We watched Nixie take the first-ever flying photo on the stage of this electronics show. And it's made possible by an Intel chip.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: OK, let her go.
SHAHANI: For an hour Krzanich uses whiz-bangy technology to make a case - just like Google is the software platform for developers around the world, Intel - the chipmaker - is the hardware platform. From drones to refrigerators to bracelets, if it computes, if it's smart, if it needs to communicate, it should be done with Intel inside. At least, that's the hope.
MICHAEL MALONE: It's a hard slog and it can look like your divorced uncle going out dancing on a Friday night.
SHAHANI: Michael Malone is author of the book "The Intel Trinity."
MALONE: This is a 50-year-old company, or a 45-year-old company, trying to look young again.
SHAHANI: Intel fell behind the smartphone revolution. It's now betting on the wearable device movement, like the drone watch, even though it might flop. And according to research sponsored by Intel, customers are not sold, but Malone says Intel has to show the world that it's trying.
MALONE: And they're not stodgy old Intel. You know, they're making connections with a lot of interesting folks that are doing interesting things.
KRZANICH: The fashion industry works very different than the classic tech industry.
SHAHANI: That's the CEO, Brian Krzanich, talking to me off stage about the companies he's working with in this wearable era.
KRZANICH: They're used to changing product right up until the last moment as fashion and what's desirable shifts, and that's something we've had to adapt to.
SHAHANI: Brands like Oakley sunglasses and Fossil watches are really different from the old PC makers and from each other. Even if Intel could figure out a button-sized superchip to serve every partner's needs, they've still got to get the price right. Back in the PC era, Intel sold chips for as much as a thousand dollars and had nice margins. But when I roam this convention floor and ask device-makers what they'd pay for a quality chip, I get single-digit answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Under a dollar.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: If it's dollar, two dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: A couple dollars, you know, $5-$6 for a good chip on that.
SHAHANI: Intel chips, which are more than good, might be overkill. And so, as CEO Krzanich walks past poker tables to lead Intel demos, he himself is making a gamble. Aarti Shahani, NPR News, Las Vegas.