Opening up
But Intel isn't making the mistake of putting all its eggs in one OS basket. Despite having been written with mobile devices in mind, it's clear that Android runs just fine on x86 chips, as exemplified by the Cisco tablet launch yesterday.
To find out more about Intel's approach to Android, we fired over a few questions to Imad Sousou, Director of the Intel Open Source Technology Centre:
What is Intel's involvement in the development of Android for x86?
At IDF Beijing in April, Renee James, Intel SVP and general manager of the Software and Solutions Group, announced a successful port of the Android operating system to the Intel Atom processor. We are continuing to work on this port, which is a result of customer interest in this solution.
What is Intel's view of the competitive landscape between Android and MeeGo?
Intel is looking to broaden our mobile efforts by opening up our architecture to more smart phone platforms, thereby enabling Intel Atom processors to run on all available operating systems. Our primary goal is to offer Intel customers a choice of operating systems that run best on our processors.
What differentiates MeeGo from Android?
MeeGo was created because Intel and Nokia have a joint goal to deliver a fully open source and universal software platform for a variety of PC-like devices. The MeeGo vision encapsulates a singular operating system that can be used on netbooks, smart phones, in-vehicle infotainment systems and other CE devices.
For consumers this means a common factor, eliminating the need to learn how to interact with a new UI for every single CE device they own. Additionally, any applications they purchase for one device also can be available on other devices. For developers, the MeeGo vision means the ability to write applications for one device and the ability to run the application on a wide variety of devices because of the common MeeGo foundation.
This all seems very sensible to us. If Intel had tried to impose an entire platform on OEMs contemplating using Moorestown, it would have seemed an even less tempting alternative to the many ARM-based SoCs out there. By being open and embracing all operating systems, Intel increases its opportunities to engage with the mobile device community -to which it's still a relative outsider.
