Intel expected to show new smartphone platform at 2013 MWC

Monica Chen, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 25 December 2012]

Intel is expected to unveil a new smartphone platform, and new Atom processors based on 22nm and 14nm processes featuring lower power consumption, at the 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, during February 25-28. The products will be crucial to Intel's competition with ARM in the global smartphone market, according to handset component makers.

Intel's Medfield platform has been adopted by Orange and smartphone vendors including Lenovo and ZTE, India-based Lava International and Motorola Mobility, but Medfield smartphone shipments have so far been in low volumes, and the RAZR I, a 4.3-inch smartphone jointly launched by Motorola Mobility and Intel in October 2012, has not sold well, the sources said.

Intel is unlikely to release own-brand phones because it does not have close relationships with mobile telecom carriers around the world, the sources said. However, Intel could cooperate with mobile telecom carriers in emerging markets such as China and India to launch entry-level smartphones, the sources indicated, but would face strong competition from MediaTek and many China-based chip design houses.