Motorola partners with Intel for Razr i smartphone

Motorola Razr i Intel

Click here for a video of the Razr i in action.

The partnership between Intel and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Motorola Mobility unit has finally borne fruit, with the companies announcing the Razr i, Motorola's first smartphone packing Intel's Atom-based silicon.

Intel and Motorola inked a deal in January and it is expected that Motorola will release multiple Intel-powered devices in the years ahead as the chip giant tries to crack into the wireless market. ZTE last month unveiled the Intel-powered Grand X IN, which it will start selling across Europe in September. Like that device, the Razr i runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich; Motorola said it will update the device to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The Razr i packs a 2-GHz Medfield processor, but it is not dual-core. Still, the chipset offers hyperthreading to support fast switching between applications. The gadget sports an 8-megapixel camera and has a dedicated camera key, a feature not found on the Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)-powered Razr M, which is similar to the Razr i, according to CNET.

Motorola said the Razr i phone has 20 hours of "mixed use" time, which is Motorola's measurement of a person's normal smartphone use, according to CNET. Jim Wicks, senior vice president of consumer experience design for Motorola, said the Razr i lasted a bit longer than the Razr M.

Starting in October the Razr i will go on sale in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, with more markets to be announced. The gadget will be able to roam onto the HSPA+ 14.4 Mbps networks of AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile USA.

Intel is working to displace the likes of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Texas Instruments and Nvidia in the smartphone space--firms that use low-power chipset architecture from ARM Holdings and have significant traction among the likes of Samsung, HTC and others. The ARM-based companies--and Qualcomm in particular--dominate the smartphone application processor market, even though Intel is the largest silicon vendor in the world based on its success with PCs. Intel will also have to fend off smaller rivals Broadcom and MediaTek, which are increasingly looking to get into smartphones both at the low end of the market and in higher tiers as well.

For more:
- see this release
- see this The Verge article
- see this CNET article

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