Intel touts new chips, partnerships in mobile push

From CNET News.com: Intel unveiled a number of new partnerships and chips as the company, which is dominant in the PC business, attempts to find the same success with mobile devices.

Intel said today it was working with ZTE, Lava International, Orange, on handsets, while it partnered with Visa on a mulit-year partnership to build a mobile-payment service together. It also unveiled a trio of new Atom chips to fill out its mobile-centric product portfolio.

"We're not a stranger to the mobile market," CEO Paul Otellini said during a press conference at the Mobile World Congress trade show. He noted that every tier one vendor uses Intel chips to some extent.

The announcements represent a right step in the direction for the company, which has struggled to convince mobile device manufacturers to use its chips, as opposed to the ARM-based chips widely used in smartphones and tablets. The company is fighting the perception that its chips are more power-hungry and aren't suitable for mobile devices that constantly need to be connected.

With ZTE and Lava International, Intel lines up handset partners that gets its chips into China and India, two of the biggest markets in the world. ZTE is a major handset maker and is actually the fourth-largest players thanks largely to its home market of China. ZTE is hoping to launch an Intel-powered phone in the second half, following a second-quarter launch in China by Lenovo.

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