Intel under antitrust investigation in New York

Not a great press month for Intel Corp- first the OLPC intrigue, now it’s New York’s attorney general breathing down the leading chipmaker’s back.

The Reuters brief according to New York Attorney General Andrwe Cuomo’s office: Intel is under a formal investigation, accused of using underhanded tactics to outdo their rival, Applied Micro Devices Inc. What will be probed is whether Intel knowingly violated state and U.S antitrust laws in the name of competition.

AMD would probably say the investigation took long enough in coming – they’d started legal proceedings against their rivals two years prior. Lawsuits or no, Intel has been doing well especially in the consumer PC market. AMD has been rather less stellar, with delayed product launches and a noticeably less marked media presence.

Intel’s marketing push isn’t going to help divert eyes away from questionable business practices. Offering ‘incentives’ to dealers to stock a product is standard practise. But AMD has alleged that Intel used ‘bullying tactics’ such as delaying shipments to coerce major clients into signing exclusive contracts, shutting out AMD from potentially lucrative sales.

‘Punishing’ clients for also buying from the competition? Tricky ethical ground here. If we reward loyal customers, would it be so far off to do the opposite to straying ones? With AMD falling far behind in the competitiveness stakes already, there might be criticism that the problem lies not with Intel but AMD’s current slump where production and innovation is concerned. If the playing ground is levelled, the question remains – will AMD still lag behind?

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• Intel’s antitrust woes cross the Atlantic
• Judge dismisses outside U.S. claims of Intel antitrust suite
• FTC suing Intel over unfair business tactics
• Nvidia complains about Intel tactics
• Intel vs AMD: iSuppli predicts Intel to win processor crown, AMD faltering