Intel continued its aggressive entrance into the mobile market on Tuesday by inking a partnership agreement with Google to optimize the Android operating system for smartphones that run on Intel chips, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The two companies will work together to ensure that future versions of Android will support Intel's "Atom" processors and other architectures, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said at the company's annual developers' conference. The partnership should help Intel push forward its goal of delivering the first Intel-powered smartphone by the early part of 2012.
"We want to make Intel architecture the platform of choice for smartphones," Intel CEO Paul Otellini told the crowd. "Every time we have collaborated with Google, good things have come out of it."
Intel, possibly motivated by the sluggish PC market that it has dominated for years, is making a concerted effort to carve out a presence in the mobile space, a market that ARM has maintained a near stranglehold on for years. Pairing itself with the world's largest OS maker certainly can't hurt.
However, many analysts believe that ARM will continue to have a leg up on Intel because its chips typically consume much more power than ARM processors. Intel is said to be working on more efficient, mobile-optimized chips.
Otellini also devoted part of his keynote address to Intel's highly publicized ultrabook strategy, which will push the development of a new class of ultra-thin, high-powered and cost-effective laptops. The concept, first teased in May, will rely on hardware and software developers sharing Intel's vision.
The chip maker put its money where its mouth is in August when it said that it will invest as much as $300 million in technology companies that are dedicated toward developing next-generation sensors, touch displays and more efficient batteries.
The concept, which seems to be a merging of a tablet and a PC, sounds an awful lot like an inexpensive version of the Apple MacBook Air.
Otellini said on Tuesday that a number of PC manufacturers, including Asus, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba, have already begun manufacturing ultrabooks.
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Beecher Tuttle is a MobilityTechzone contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Tammy Wolf
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