Tech
Intel steps up its Atom mobile push
Intel still has a rough road competing with the likes of Qualcomm and ARM. A clearer picture of Intel's mobile success will emerge beginning at the end of the year.
Intel is stepping up its mobile chip cadence with new Atom processors coming up as the chip giant tries to entice more smartphone and tablet manufacturers to go with its platform.
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Intel outlined the following:
- A dual-core Atom platform for smartphones that will double compute and boost graphic processing.
- Multimode and multiband LTE chips for global roaming. These processors will land in the first half of 2013.
- Asus will launch a new Atom Z2420 based Android tablet.
- Lenovo's IdeaPhone K900 is the first product with the new Atom processors. Those phones appear in China in the second quarter.
- A roadmap that includes a quad-core Atom system on a chip, dubbed Bay Trail, a processor available for the holiday shopping season of 2013.
Overall, Intel's new Atom processors---Z2580, Z2560, Z2520---come in speeds ranging from 1.2 Ghz to 2 Ghz. The processors also support larger screen tablets.
Add it up and Intel is seeding the globe with its Atom chips and working out agreements with device manufacturers. The company, however, still has a rough road competing with the likes of Qualcomm and ARM. A clearer picture of Intel's mobile success will emerge beginning at the end of the year.