PDA

View Full Version : Orange San Diego will be UK's first Intel smartphone



thelostone
01-06-2012, 10:50 PM
Orange will be the first British operator to sell an Intel smartphone when the San Diego goes on sale on June 6.
Today, ARM-based processors dominate among smartphones and tablets, but Intel is devoting a lot of resources to carving out a chunk of this growing market.
The San Diego, previously known as the Santa Clara, is powered by Intel's Atom Z2460 processor at 1.6GHz. The phone also has a 4.03-inch screen with a 1024-by-600 pixel resolution and an 8-megapixel camera that will be able to take 10 images in one second, and shoot video at 1080p.
More competition in the smartphone processor space is good for all involved, said Yves Maitre, vice president for Devices at Orange Group, when the phone was introduced at Mobile World Congress in February.
Orange is a big supporter of HD Voice, which has been implemented on the San Diego.
For now the phone runs Android 2.3, but an upgrade to Android 4.0 'Ice Cream Sandwich' is on the way.
Breaking into the smartphone market isn't going to be easy for Intel, according to Malik Saadi, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.
"I think Intel is making a mistake by entering the mobile space with an entry-level product rather than from the high-end side. That risks diluting their brand," said Saadi.
http://cdn3.techworld.com/cmsdata/news/3361207/Intel_San_Diego_Orange.jpg
The San Diego will be available for ?199.99 on Orange Pay As You Go, when customers top up ?10.
That compares to the Apple iPhone 4S with 16GB which costs ?489.99 on Orange Pay As You Go.
Prepaid users in the UK will also receive a free monthly allowance of 250MB of mobile data per month for 12 months.
Alternatively, the handset will be free to people who sign a 24-month contract from ?15.50 a month before July 25. The package includes 50 minutes, 50 texts, and 100MB of mobile data a month.