Intel Moorestown is Dedicated to Open Source Platforms
Despite the long history between Microsoft and Intel, it appears that the two companies will be taking on the mobile phone industry separately.
The first big sign came from Microsoft –long before Intel’s new Atom chip was even announced. Steve Ballmer announced that Windows Phone 7 would be exclusively running on Qualcomm architecture –which practically built a wall between Microsoft and Intel. This is why it was not surprising to hear that the upcoming Moorestown chipset will be running the Linux based MeeGo and Google Android operating system.
Intel’s track record with high speed chips has never been an issue, but for mobile phones, speed is not the only consideration, power consumption is another factor that many manufacturers consider. This is why many of the older Atom chipsets were only used on netbooks, but now, a new type of chip is able to provide plenty of processing capabilities, but without the unnecessary power drain.
In fact, according to the most recent announcements, the new Atom chip will be able to run for a full 10 hours of continued use –no estimates on the standby power consumption rates.
While Moorestown’s lack of support for the Windows Phone OS is understandable, it is surprising that it will not be compatible with the standard Windows OS for netbooks.
According to Intel, the new chipset was originally not designed to run Windows –making the chip one that is focused on very low power drain as opposed to actual performance, in this case, making the Moorestown a better fit for Android and MeeGo devices.
So far, no handset has been confirmed that will be using the Intel chipsets, rumors are stating that the smart phones featuring the new Intel technology will not be available until early next year. With OS like the Android and MeeGo, it is likely that Nokia and HTC will be the first to try out the new technology.
Tags: Google-Android, Hardware, Intel, MeeGo, Microsoft
