Intel (INTC) and China’s Lenovo have launched an Android 2.3 smartphone powered by Intel’s Atom Z2460 processor, and next week a similar Intel-powered smartphone will go on sale in the UK.
Lenovo’s LePhone K800 will retail for about $524 on Lenovo’s 360buy.com website. With a 4.5″ screen and high definition 1080p video, the smartphone targets gamers and entertainment enthusiasts. The launch follows last month’s debut of the XOLO X900 in India, the first smartphone with an Intel microprocessor.
Meanwhile, Orange UK is set to launch Europe’s first Intel-powered smartphone on June 6. Like the LePhone K800, the Orange San Diego (previously called the Santa Clara) is an Android 2.3 phone powered by Intel’s Atom Z2460 (Medfield) processor, as well as Intel’s XMM 6260 cellular modem. The Intel modem, which the company says is the smallest HSPA+ cellular modem on the market today, supports pentaband UMTS 3G, meaning that the phone should be able to connect to networks worldwide.
The San Diego will be free for customers willing to sign a two-year contract at $24 per month (£15.50). For prepaid customers, the phone will cost about $308 (£199). Orange UK, which is part of Everything Everywhere currently has about 15 million subscribers.
The Atom Z2460, a single core 1.6GHz processor, is Intel’s first foray into the smartphone processor market. The company that has dominated chip design for personal computers and servers has gotten something of a slow start in the mobile device market because its chips typically consume more power than those of competitor ARM Holdings (ARMH).
But Intel is racing to catch up, with plans to launch a dual core 32nm version of Atom later this year.
Although Intel has a long history of working with Microsoft, the company has partnered with makers of Android phones for its initial launches since Android currently dominates the OS landscape. Android enthusiasts were eager to get their hands on the new devices, and Android Central posted this demo of the San Diego earlier today.
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