The basic 80386 architecture has a bright future well into the next century following the announcement by Intel Corp yesterday that it is ready with versions of the chip for embedded applications – anything from adding intelligence to a washing machine to looking after the vital signs of an auto engine. The company is already sampling the 80386CX, and it will go into high-volume production in 1994. An 80386EX variant, which includes peripheral circuits that make it more easily integrated by users of Intel’s older microcontrollers, will follow at the end of next year. The parts will cost between $20 and $40 a time, and many will no doubt find themselves running Microsoft at Work in copiers and such; they succeed the 80186.
