A few days ago, Intel CEO Paul Otellini said that touchscreen-based products that will use the company"s upcoming Bay Trail processor would be sold later this year and that they "are going to be down to as low as $200." Now there"s word that those ultra-cheap touchscreen devices may be based not on Microsoft"s Windows 8, as most assumed, but with Google"s Android OS.
CNET reports they have an unnamed source which is quoted as saying, "There are design wins for Android tablets at that $200 price point. Intel will be participating in that market this year." Another report on Digitimes claims, again via unnamed sources, that Intel processors will be inside "Android convertible notebooks" that will be launched in the coming months by a number of PC OEMs, including HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer and Toshiba.
These rumors come one day after Microsoft confirmed that it is working with PC OEMs to make smaller Windows 8-based touchscreen products that will launch in the near future, although specifics about those products have not been revealed. Analysts who spoke to CNET claim that seven- or eight-inch Windows 8 tablets with Intel chips inside could be priced as low as $299.
There"s been no indication that Intel had any plans before now to offer its chips for Android-based tablets and notebooks. The company does have smartphone-based processors that have been used inside a few Android phones. Earlier this month, ZTE announced a new Android 4.2 smartphone called the "Geek" that has Intel"s Clover Trail+ Atom processor.
Source: CNET | Image via Intel