Chip sales were slumping in late 2007, but the head of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) , the world's biggest chipmaker, is typically upbeat about 2008.

Intel INTC could benefit from what he sees as a trend toward lower-cost computing, "which will help spread the power of the PC to more places around the world." Intel offers low-cost processors for PCs that can sell for less than $200.

And small is still beautiful, as far as consumers are concerned, he says. "We're also likely to see greater adoption of smaller form factor devices -- so-called mobile Internet devices," Otellini said.

Finally, broadband will continue to blanket the Earth. Wireless WiMax, a technology of which Intel is a major backer, is moving into wider use. It will "help make mobile computing more ubiquitous by driving broadband, and the Internet, into more and more places," Otellini said.

After a couple of years of trailing archrival Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) AMD in tech innovations, Intel rolled out 40 products within a five-month span in mid-2007. Analysts say in the process it regained the tech innovation lead, and started to regain market share.

Intel's share price reflects its improved fortunes. The stock's up 40% since April. For the fourth quarter, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect per-share profit to jump 54% from the year-earlier quarter, to 40 cents. They see sales rising 12% to $10.8 billion.

Otellini is looking for a big boost from a chip that Intel plans to roll out in the second half of 2008. It will be new from the ground up.

"This product is code-named Nehalem (named for a river in Oregon) and will be state-of-the-art in low-power, high-performance processors," he said. "We will also be introducing a new family of ultra-low-power products that will enable true mobile Internet experiences."