When it comes to Intel and the smartphone market, it seems like we’re forever waiting on them to do something big, for Intel to realize the potential of their processors. There’s nothing particularly wrong with Intel’s smartphone processors, especially since they’ve been able to get on top of power consumption now. In fact, Intel’s processors are pretty snappy, and they always benchmark well. All of this doesn’t matter much when you consider the sort of devices that Intel has been shipping their CPUs in – they’ve been mostly budget-minded affairs and regional offerings. The only device you could say that packs an Intel processor is high-end is Lenovo’s 5.5-inch K900, which is slated for release only in China.
Intel really need to get their chips into something more high-end, something more consumer facing if they hope to stand alongside Qualcomm in the mobile arena. ASUS have already shown an interest in using Intel’s chips when they announced the Fonepad at this year’s Mobile World Congress, and it looks like they aren’t going to stop with one 7-inch tablet-come-phone.
Digitimes are reporting that ASUS will be shipping a high-end smartphone this summer – with the possibility to launch a line of them – packing Intel’s latest Clover Trail+ architecture in the form of the Atom Z2580. The smartphone would be in the region of 5 – 5.5-inches and could be similar to Lenovo’s K900. Judging by how well ASUS’ devices are built, having a smartphone that stands aside from the PadFone branding wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Distribution is more than likely going to be against Intel here, just as it is with the Lenovo K900. The PadFone is available in the US only through importation and if the carriers won’t go near that, then what chance does an Intel-powered smartphone from ASUS have? It’s more difficult than ever for manufacturers to enter the US Smartphone market now and ASUS will likely focus their efforts elsewhere – like China and emerging markets such as India.
What do you think, would you want to buy a phone with Intel Inside from ASUS? Let us know in the comments.