While Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp. has no phones on sale that use its processors, whispers are hinting that the chip maker may be trying to break into the smartphone industry soon in an attempt to lower dependence on Intel’s personal computer strategy.
The company is rumored to have designed a recent handset similar to Intel’s Atom microprocessor, that may possibly be partnered and manufactured by ZTE Corp., the No. 8 phone manufacturer worldwide, headquartered in ShenZhen, China. Officials at ZTE said in January that global shipments of mobile phone handsets, tablets and wireless data cards will jump to 120 million units for the company in 2011.
Intel attempted to break into the mobile market in February but was blocked when Nokia Corp. drifted away from a joint venture to make devices with operating systems using Intel in favor of teaming up with Microsoft Corp.
“The market eagerly awaits Intel’s first product,” said Doug Freedman, an analyst at Gleacher & Co., in an interview with Bloomberg. “After two years of nothing, it’s past due.”
Officials at Intel are keeping quiet, and have declined comment on Intel’s interests in ZTE, while a representative from ZTE has acknowledged “discussion and cooperation on a technical basis.”
Intel will have to face processing giant ARM Holdings Plc., which controls large amounts of market share. Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., rely on ARM designs, and are the biggest makers of phone chips.
