Charles King, an analyst with Pund-IT, echoed Enderle, noting that the ARM community has positioned itself very well to take on a big challenge - even from a Fortune 100 company with very deep pockets.

"Like any entrenched technology, ARM has a solid position and the high ground in many markets," added King. "Entrenched competitors are among the hardest to counter, let alone beat."

King, though, noted that this doesn't mean ARM chips and the companies behind them are invincible. "I hesitate to say that any technology has too much of a head start to be caught or beaten," he said. "So far as ARM is concerned, most all of its markets are growing rapidl, but many are also highly immature. Both circumstances translate into competitive opportunities.

"So long as Intel delivers effective, affordable, innovative technologies, they should be able to attract some OEM customers and partners," King added.

Dan Olds, an analyst with The Gabriel Consulting Group, though, thinks Intel has a good shot at gaining mobile chip market share, regardless of how well entrenched ARM chips are.