Intel’s earnings call is this afternoon, giving analysts an opportunity to herald their expectations.  Q1 will be an important determinant for Intel, especially as investors closely eye the performance of Sandy Bridge and Atom chips.  These two carry significant leads into the mobile realm, an area where Intel’s transition has been tough.  Chip rivals like AMD are championing in the mobile space, encouraging some analysts to suggest Intel take its competitor’s lead.

Forbes places its estimate at $27.23, about a 36% premium to the market price.  Intel’s expected to see some lower processor unit sales as a seasonal impact, while Intel’s server market share remains high.  What’s got analysts drooling are the numbers on the Atom and Sandy Bridge initiatives, which could greatly change Intel’s mobile picture.

The Atom chip has seen slow adoption in the mobile space, appealing to netbooks rather than smartphones or tablets.  It’s seen some growth, however, bringing in approximately $1.6 billion, a 9% growth rate compared to 2009.  Intel’s yet to play catch-up in the mobile space, which has grown considerably faster than Atom’s uptake, though Sandy Bridge’s novel take on chip design has been a major point of discussion in recent months.

Demand is gaining for Sandy Bridge chips, so Intel could be looking to develop some business opportunities around this.  The chip’s development has had its own obstacles, and faces steep competition as gaming and entertainment drive consumer demand for mobile devices.

It’s Nomura Equity Research analyst Romit Shah, however, that wants Intel to pick up ARM’s cues.  Suggesting Intel go ahead and acquire Texas Instruments’ mobile-chip business would be one way of snatching the lead.  Intel’s stock hasn’t wowed much in the last 12 months, falling about 18 percent, though the S&P 500 has seen a 9% increase.

“We believe Intel should embrace the ARM architecture,” Shah wrote. “Intel’s core strengths are building advanced manufacturing processes and optimizing processor architectures. That said, we believe the x86 architecture is not competitive versus ARM in low power applications such as mobile handsets and tablets.”

As Intel continues to struggle over expected and unseen industry humps, few analysts are optimistic about big gains in Intel’s earnings call today.  The shining spot for Intel is its steady core business, while the mobile space likely remains a missed target.