What Do Intel And Nokia Actually Plan To Do?

Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, and Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, announced a deal to create new types of mobile computing devices on 23 June. It’s clearly a challenge to the current crop of smartphones, cell phones and possibly netbooks, but what do the two companies plan to do?

The answers we have come from a media and analyst briefing call which the two companies hosted: “Smartphones and handhelds have powerful computers inside, and when you combine that with high-bandwidth mobile broadband, it can transform the user experience and bring incredible mobile applications and the full Internet into a device that fits in your pocket,” said Anand Chandrasekher of Intel’s ultra mobility group.

“It’s natural, then, for the leaders in both computing and communications to come together to accelerate this innovation, while at the same time driving exciting new revenue opportunities for both our companies.”

Sharing the call was Nokia executive vice president of devices Kai Oistamo, Chandrasekher continued, “I’m very pleased to announce that Intel and Nokia are today joining forces in a long-term strategic relationship to align and shape the next era of mobile computing.”

Prime partners

Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told eWEEK, “The wireless handset space has been one that Intel has had its sights set on for some time, and Nokia is the largest handset vendor and a prime piece of real estate to build a business with.”

While Intel’s low-power Atom processor is the dominant chip in the popular netbook computer space, Intel has struggled to make headway in the mobile phone market, dominated by Texas Instruments and Qualcomm.

In February, at the Mobile World Congress, Intel and LG announced a collaboration around mobile Internet devices, or MIDs, in which Intel would contribute its MID hardware platform, code-named Moorestown, as well as its Linux Moblin v2.0 software platform, though the two companies have yet to bring a device to market.

On the call today, Intel officials would not comment on Moorestown, and neither side would offer product or timeline specifics. “We will talk about products when we’re ready to talk products,” Chandrasekher said.