Intel said it has forged an agreement with Tsinghua Unigroup to co-develop processors for mobile devices.
Tsinghua runs both Spreadtrum and RDA, which are fabless semiconductor companies that develop 2G-, 3G-, and 4G-enabled mobile chipset platforms for smart phones, feature phones, and other consumer electronics products. In particular, Spreadtrum will create and sell a family of Intel Architecture-based system-on-chips (SoCs).
The companies said Intel-based SoCs will appear in consumer products during the second half of next year. Further, Intel is investing $1.5 billion in Tsinghua, giving it a 20% stake in the company.
Intel has its own family of mobile processors, but it has struggled against stronger competitors such as Qualcomm, which often combines application processors with wireless baseband radios. Combo chips are often more attractive to handset makers.
