Intel is to release an integrated mobile phone processor
for third-generation networks, president and chief operating
officer Paul Otellini announced at the 3GSM World Congress in
Cannes yesterday.
The Hermon family of processors builds on Intel's integrated
processors for GSM/GPRS and Edge networks. They will support faster
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System/Wideband Code Division
Multiple Access 3G networks and will also allow phone users to
participate in videoconferences.
Intel is a newcomer to the mobile phone processor market. Its
PXA800F processor, formerly known as Manitoba, was released about a
year ago as its first attempt at cracking this market. The PXA800F
features an XScale applications processor, a GSM/GPRS modem, and
flash memory integrated onto a single chip.
Many phone designers use two chips from companies such Texas
Instruments to separately control the operating system and the
communications because the chipsets are easier and cheaper to build
into phones than the single chip. Intel believes that a single-chip
approach allows phone designers to build smaller devices and that
costs will decrease as silicon technology continues to shrink.
Intel also announced that manufacturer Asustek Computer will
build phones based on the PXA800F and smart phones based on the
Hermon processors. Wireless carrier Orange will also work with
Intel on next-generation phones.
Few companies have signed on to build phones with Intel's
PXA800F chip. The XScale applications processor can be found in
several phones, but the PXA800F has proved a tougher sell. Maxon
Telecom agreed last year to release a phone based on the chip, but
that phone has yet to hit the market.
In December, Intel wrote off $600m in goodwill related to
its mobile phone processor division, saying the business would not
grow as quickly as it had once believed.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News
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