Partnership with Lenovo and Motorola sees Atom Z2460 chip used in
Android phones and tablets
Intel has joined forces with Lenovo and Motorola to make its
first entrance into the smartphones market.
The Lenovo K800 handset runs Google’s Android operating
system and is powered by Intel Atom Z2460 processor. Previously dubbed
‘Medfield’, this chip runs at 1.6GHz. According to Intel, it was specifically
designed for use in smartphones and tablet PCs to deliver “leading performance
with competitive energy efficiency”.
The Z2460 also features in the Lenovo IdeaTab K2110 tablet,
which runs Google Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’. It’s expected to ship later
this year.
The Lenovo K800 has a 4.5in touchscreen that can display
720p video. It will be made available in China this spring, with launches in
the UK, Europe and the US to follow shortly afterwards. “The best of Intel
computing is coming to smartphones,” said Intel President and CEO Paul
Otellini.
Intel has also teamed up with Motorola Mobility, having
entered into a multi-year, multi-strategy relationship that will see Motorola’s
Android phones and tablets running Intel’s processors. Devices are expected to
ship in the second half 2012.
“Although there are five billion mobile subscribers in the
world, less than 800 million are using a smartphone today. With Android as the
leading smartphone OS globally, and advancements in computing technology, we
wee tremendous opportunity for the converged devices market,” said Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s
chairman and CEO.
Mike Bell, vice-president and general manager of Intel’s
mobile wireless group, said the Intel chip will be competitive on power and
excel in performance. Handsets running the Z2469 chip will provide up to 8
hours of talk time (3G), 6 hrs of HD video playback, 5 hrs of web browsing, and
a standby time 0f 14 hrs.
The Atom chip can deliver a burst in performance when
needed, which could burn more power, but also reduce power consumption when the
performance isn’t required, said Bell.
