Goodbye Tegra3 and SnapDragon; Hello Intel!

The smartphone industry has been overtaken by ARM processors for several years, until now. Today, Intel, in collaboration with Motorola, unveiled a new Intel-powered Motorola RAZR device, sporting a single-core 2 GHz Intel Atom processor. Additional specs include a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The device, which was launched during a press event in London earlier today, will be available exclusively in Europe. It resembles Motorola’s latest RAZR M smartphone, including an edge-to-edge screen, 1 GB of memory, and 8 GB of internal storage.

Perhaps more importantly than the specs themselves, it marks a change in the smartphone landscape. With Intel in the equation, they could possibly give NVidia, Samsung, and the rest a run for their money. Depending on benchmarks, the 2 GHz chip could perform quite well. Although, as we’ve seen from the iPhone 5 benchmarks, clock speed and cores don’t always equate better performance.

Interestingly, a few years ago Intel Atom chips were powering the Netbooks of yesteryear. You know, the one sitting in your desk collecting dust. A 2 GHz chip could offer performance beyond the Tegra3 SoC, stirring up the competition. Battery life, however; will be the true testament to Intel’s comeback. Given the new Intel RAZR only has a 2,000 mAh battery, the processor must be efficient for it to last a full day.

It’s Not the Smartphone

Okay, the actual device is relatively lame compared to the high-end Android devices on the market. But, like mentioned previously, marks a change in the overall smartphone arena. If Intel wants to survive, they must develop a solid mobile strategy that competes with NVidia head-to-head. Intel hasn’t exactly perfected ultra-low power in laptops. As such, use caution when weighing their recent developments.

You can’t judge Intel based on one device – hopefully this is a series of products that will use the Atom platform. Oddly, you’d think they would wait to ship Intel with Windows Phone 8, given most associate Intel with Microsoft PCs. Granted, Apple has been using Intel for many years now. Nonetheless, Android is definitely optimized for the ARM architecture – it will be interesting to see the benchmarks once they’re made public.

Availability

The Motorola RAZR I will be available in select countries within Europe and Latin America starting in early October. Countries include the UK, Germany, France, Brazil, and Mexico. A select, stand out white version will also be available in select locations.