Google Says Android Smartphones to Support Intel Atom Technology

Intel Corp. and Google Inc. this week said that they will team up to accelerate the entry to market of Android-based smartphones driven by the chip maker’s Atom processors.

The joint effort comes on the heels of Google’s recent $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility and underscores Intel’s intention to play catch up in the smartphone market where it has lagged competitors such as ARM Ltd.

In the wake of crawling netbook PC sales, Intel has been looking for new avenues to apply its Atom processors, sales of which have noticeably flagged in recent quarters.

"By optimizing the Android platform for Intel architecture, we bring a powerful new capability to market that will accelerate more industry adoption and choice, and bring exciting new products to market that harness the combined potential of Intel technology and the Android platform," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive.

Officials said that the partnership will enable mobile device OEMs and wireless operators to leverage the Intel architecture and draw upon the extensive x86 developer communities to advance the Android platform.

"Combining Android with Intel's low power smartphone roadmap opens up more opportunity for innovation and choice," said Andy Rubin, Google senior vice president, mobile.

"This collaboration will drive the Android ecosystem forward," he said.

Intel and Google have some collaboration history to build on, previously working together to optimize chips and software for Chrome OS and Google TV.