The current crop of “Medfield”-based Intel Atom smartphone chips has one major disadvantage compared to much of the ARM-based competition — these SoCs don’t support 4G LTE connectivity. Recent Intel-based phones like the Motorola RAZR i and Orange San Diego are 3G/HSPA-only, single-core devices, which has proved a barrier to U.S. carrier uptake. Though these chips boast Intel’s Hyperthreading technology for improved multitasking, the chip giant is keen to move into true multi-core territory, while implementing 4G LTE support, allowing it to move into the U.S. market.
Speaking with TechCrunch, Intel’s Director of Product Marketing Sumeet Syal said the company was readying LTE products “later this year and ramping into 2013.” In the U.S. market in particular, Motorola would be the manufacturer to watch for future LTE-connected Intel-powered phones. Moto has partnered with Intel to develop multiple devices over the next few years, and it’s already started with the RAZR i in Europe.
In addition, it should come as no surprise to see Intel readying dual-core Medfield chips to take on higher-end ARM offerings. Syal told TechCrunch “Our next gen product will be a dual-core but again that product will also have hyper threading so essentially… you will also have dual-core with four threads.”
It’s just the beginning for Intel on Android, and we expect there’ll be more to see starting early next year at CES.
Source: TechCrunch