Intel adds new chips for telecom push

Global chip giant Intel is betting big on smartphones, evident from the partnerships announced at the Mobile World Congress here, which include Indian handset maker Lava and Chinese equipment maker ZTE.

Intel is looking at strengthening its presence in the mobile telephony space. “We are pleased to add new, important customers and capabilities to our phone offerings. We remain focused on delivering exciting new features and outstanding performance to smartphone customers around the world,” Intel Corporation President & CEO Paul Otellini said.

Its partnership with Lava International will see the firms collaborating to launch XOLO X900, which will be India’s first smartphone with an Intel Atom processor inside. The handset is expected to hit  markets in India in the second quarter this year and will support all major 2G and 3G networks.

The XOLO X900 would be powered by 1.6 Ghz processor and come equipped with a 4.03-inch high-resolution LCD touch screen. Apart from delivering web browsing and multitasking experience, the handset would also feature two cameras.

Intel also announced a multi-year mobile device collaboration across smartphones and tablets with ZTE. The first Intel-powered mobile device from ZTE is scheduled to debut in the second half of 2012.

Besides, Intel also unveiled a trio of new Atom chips to fill out its mobile-centric product portfolio. Extending the performance and energy efficiency of the Intel Atom processor Z2460, Intel announced that the platform will now support speeds up to 2GHz.