Intel And Google Work To Optimize Android For Atom

Intel and Google, working hand-in-hand? Looks that way. While Intel and Google obviously crossed paths in the past, it looks the relationship between the two corporations is about to become a lot stronger. On stage at IDF this week, the two announced that they'll be working to enable and optimize future versions of Android for Intel's family of low power Atom processors. This means that future versions of the Android platform will support Intel technology in addition to other architectures.

The joint effort is designed to speed time-to-market of Intel technology-based smartphones running the Android platform. Intel will take advantage of the open-source accessibility of the Android platform to provide its customers with technology products that inspire continued innovation and also help enable powerful personal computing experiences that fully leverage Intel technology across a range of devices. This work will enable mobile device OEMs and wireless operators to draw upon the performance and low power capabilities of Intel architecture and tap into the scale of the x86 developer ecosystem to further drive the adoption of the Android platform.


Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini seems more than thrilled and noted: "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. Together we are accelerating Intel architecture and bringing new levels of innovation to a maturing Android platform."

It's quite interesting to see Intel swooning over Google, but with MeeGo all but deceased, it's probably best to hop on this bandwagon now versus later. While the immediate thought surrounds tablets and smartphones, it could possibly extend to things like in-car entertainment, point-of-sale systems, etc. Android's seeping into a lot of places these days, and clearly, these are places that Intel wants to be.

Tags:  Intel, Android, Google, Atom, CPU