Intel and Nokia announce mobile alliance

Intel and Nokia announce mobile allianceSan Francisco - Intel and Nokia on Tuesday announced what they called a "broad alliance" in mobile technology, in a move that will see them work together on chip design and the development of a "new platform" for mobile computing products.

The alliance between the world's largest maker of cell-phones and the world's largest computer chip company comes as smartphones and netbooks are increasingly moving the focus of personal computing to the mobile front.

The deal allows Intel the opportunity to expand its dominance of the computer chip market to the multi-billion dollar market for mobile devices. Currently most smartphones use ARM chips made by Qualcomm. But the alliance with Nokia, and an earlier deal with LG means that Intel's Atom chips could become just as popular.

The two companies also said they will jointly develop Linux-based operating systems for mobile devices.

"We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today," said Nokia executive vice president Kai Oistamo in a statement. "This collaboration will be compelling not only for our companies, but also for our industries, our partners and, of course, for consumers."(dpa)