Intel Corp. (INTC) Chief Executive Paul Otellini said not to expect any actions soon in relation to the European Union antitrust ruling against the company, which Intel has vowed to appeal.

Otellini said the company is still working through the 542-page ruling, and that the appeal process will likely take many years.

In May, the E.U. levied a record $1.44 billion fine against the chip giant resulting from charges made by rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) that Intel was competing unfairly in the way it sold its chips.

"Don't expect any action short-term on this," Otellini said in an interview with Fox Business.

"The appeal process will take a number of years, I would think," he added.

Intel shares were recently down 1.6% to $15.61.

The impending fine wouldn't cause Intel to post a loss for 2009 should the company pay it this year, Otellini said, while reiterating his view that the chip market will return to seasonal demand patterns in the second half of the year after the PC market "hit bottom" in the first quarter.

"We called the bottom of the market in February," he said. "Everything I've seen since then resonates on that point."

While consumer spending on technology has been relatively stronger than spending by businesses, Otellini expects that consumer confidence will fall as more people lose their jobs. The tech sector, though, could be helped by a return of business spending in late 2009 or early 2010.

To help spur demand for PCs this year, both Intel and AMD are betting on "light-and-thin" notebooks. Last year, Intel ran away with the market for cheap, Internet-focused laptops called netbooks with its low-cost Atom chip. AMD didn't have a competing product, but has a bit of a head start in light-and-thin notebooks with its Yukon chip.

The notebooks, which resemble Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) skinny MacBook Air, are fully functional computers but use low-cost, low-power chips and are more affordable than earlier products in the category.

"Do you really want to carry around a big, heavy notebook anymore?" asked Otellini. "The hottest thing on the market this year is thin and light."

Netbooks have mostly been selling for around $200 to $400, whereas light-and-thin will likely be priced in the $500-to-$800 range. The small form-factor notebooks have traditionally cost more than $1,000, and were targeted toward business customers.

In addition to focusing on new form factors in notebooks, Intel wants to take its Atom chip into the market for mobile phones - a market Otellini called "critical" to Intel's continuing growth.

The company has already announced its Atom chip will be used in a mobile Internet device, a product falling somewhere between a netbook and a smartphone. But the goal, Otellini said, is to make chips that can be used in devices like Apple's iPhone and Palm Inc.'s (PALM) Pre.

"We would love to win Apple or Palm," he said, though cautioning that Intel's current chips aren't ready for the iPhone.

Technologically, "we'll get there next year," Otellini said.

-By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5670; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com