Intel revealed its first prototype smartphone built on its next Atom smartphone chip codenamed Merrifield. The processor chip is slated to provide a 50 percent performance boost over current chips and will have much improved battery life as well.
Shown off by Tom Kilroy during the keynote session at Computex, the chip will ship to carriers and device makers early next year. Kilroy also stated that we should expect to see the first phones running on the Merrifield chip at MWC 2014.
The successor to Intel’s Cloverfield chip is being aimed at high performance smartphones. The reveal comes at a time when Intel is trying to make itself relevant in the mobile phone market. Declining sales of traditional computers means that the company has to diversify and shed its complete reliance on the PC market. Intel also showed off some Android and Windows tablets running on the upcoming Bay Trail chip that includes LTE capabilities. Intel acquired Infineon’s wireless chip unit in 2010 and their work on LTE radios is expected to make it to Intel’s Atom chip. Tablets running on the Bay Trail chip are expected to range between $200 and $500 in pricing when they launch later this year.