11/10/97 SMILE, YOU'RE ON INTEL CAMERA

SMILE, YOU'RE ON INTEL CAMERA

THE NEXT CAMERA YOU BUY may bear an ''Intel Inside'' logo. Not content with its near-monopoly on central processors for personal computers, Intel wants to be a big player in the digital camera market as well. The semiconductor giant in early November will begin selling a set of four chips that camera companies can use to make digital cameras for less than $250 retail, says Intel.
With digital cameras, there are no developing costs, since you can print photos at home using your PC printer. And you can edit the images on your computer and E-mail them.
Intel is betting that its chip set will help spur Pentium PC sales. It also will address the difficulty of linking digital cameras with personal computers. Its chips provide a simple and fast link, but they only work with computers equipped with Intel's highest-priced Pentium processors. Peter Green, general manager of Intel's digital peripherals division, says digital imaging ''is potentially an explosive opportunity for us'' but won't comment on Intel's future camera plans.
Thus far, Intel's only customers for the chip set are new to the digital camera business: Samsung, Aztech Systems, and Lite-On Technology. Whether any major camera outfits will use Intel's chips is unclear. Now, Eastman Kodak, Olympus, and other top digital camera companies use chips made by Toshiba, Texas Instruments, and others.
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT
Geoffrey Smith