Intel processors are quite well-known in the desktop, server and notebook market. Now they are finally headed to Android smartphones. Intel announced Thursday that the XOLO X900 will be their first Intel powered smartphone and it will be available on April 23rd in India.
The XOLO X900, manufactured by Lava International, runs on a single-core Atom Z2460 (Medfield) processor clocked at 1.6Ghz. Now before you get carried away with only one core in a world of dual and quad-core devices, remember Intel has been refining their processor architecture for about 40 years. This processor also supports hyper-threading. With Hyper-Threading, a CPU can execute two (rather than one) concurrent threads of instructions sent by the operating system. Having two streams of execution units to work on allows more work to be done by the CPU during each clock cycle. Simply put, hyper-threading makes multi-tasking better. It makes a single CPU act like multiple CPUs.
Besides a unique CPU, the X900 is packed with your average smartphone specs. It sports an 8MP camera rear camera and a 1.3MP front shooter. The phone is a bit smaller than some of today’s latest flagships with a 4.03 inch display 123mm x 63mm x 10.99mm in size. The screen has a resolution of 1024 x 600 and protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass. The rest of the features seem pretty standard, including a micro HDMI slot and NFC capabilities.
Intel plans to stay competitive in an already saturated ARM CPU market with a number of key features: energy efficiency, camera capabilities, video playback and encoding, and browser speed and performance. The Medfield chip design features advanced image processing technology and Intel has optimized Android to work with their chips, making browsing a lot faster.
Intel also announced several other devices to be rolling out during the coming year. Intel has partnerships with Orange, Motorola, ZTE, and Lenovo. No specs have been released on these upcoming devices at this time. We can expect similar Medfield chip design, 400MHz graphics, and 1080p video playing and recording.
Press Release
New Delhi, India, April 19, 2012 – Intel Corporation and Lava International Ltd., one of India’s fastest-growing mobile handset companies, today announced the general availability of the XOLO X900, the first smartphone with Intel inside. The device will be available to customers for purchase beginning 23rd April at a best-buy street price of approximately INR 22000.
Lava also announced its long-term partnership with Croma, a national chain of mega stores of consumer electronics and durables, for promotion and sale of the XOLO X900
The partnership between Intel and Lava was announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. The XOLO X900 is based on Intel’s smartphone reference design featuring the Intel® Atomâ„¢ processor Z2460 with Intel® Hyper Threading Technology and supporting HSPA+ 3G connectivity.
The high-performance 1.6 GHz Atomâ„¢ processor with Hyper Threading Technology brings speed and multi-tasking performance to consumers’ fingertips. The leading-edge 400 MHz graphics clock and the full 1080p HD video encoding and playback make this phone a perfect entertainment device, providing users with an immersive gaming and video experience. It also features an 8-megapixel camera delivering advanced imaging capabilities including burst mode that allows 10 pictures to be captured in under a second.
The XOLO X900 is housed in a sleek design with a 4.03-inch high-resolution LCD touch screen for crisp text and vibrant images. At launch, the X900 will run on Android Gingerbread*, with a planned over-the -air software upgrade to Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich* platform shortly thereafter. Intel’s technology enables a high-performance user experience, all while maintaining great battery life – up to 5 hours of 3G browsing, 45 hours of audio and 8 hours of talk time1.
“Through XOLO X900, we are happy to bring to the Indian market a device that addresses the needs of those for whom speed and performance matters. After our success in feature phones with over 10 million happy customers in under 3 years, XOLO will be a differentiated player in the fast-growing smartphone segment. The initial reviews of XOLO X900 have been very positive and independent benchmarks clearly point to the fact that when it comes to speed and performance, XOLO X900 is the gold standard,” said Vishal Sehgal, co-founder and director, Lava International.
“The first smartphone with Intel inside is now available to Indian consumers,” said Mike Bell, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group. “The boundaries of personal computing are expanding. As we enter the India market with our first smartphone from Lava, the device not only showcases the rich capabilities and user benefits of Intel computing, but also highlights the exciting possibilities of what’s still to come.”
Commenting on the long-term strategic partnership with Lava, Ajit Joshi, MD and CEO, Infiniti Retail Limited, said “We at Croma are extremely pleased to collaborate with Intel and Lava to get this exciting new product into the market. We always endeavor to get the latest and best products first to our consumers and this is a step in that direction. We are very optimistic about the prospects of this exciting new product.”
Starting 23rdApril, the XOLO X900 will be available for purchase to customers from Croma and Xolo.in, followed by availability in other retail chains, general trade and online stores from early May.
Sources: Xolo.in, Wired