The Verge
Intel, the world’s number one supplier of PC processors, has neglected getting in the Android game until a few months ago, thus allowing ARM to easily dominate the market. The Santa Clara-based company is now finally looking to make a push in the Android world, and, while its first steps might seem a bit hesitant, its future plans are pretty bold.
There might not be many Intel-based Android gadgets available for sale right now, but, according to official claims, they will soon get Jelly Bean updates. The news comes from the guys at PCWorld, who’ve had a very short talk with Suzy Greenberg, one of Intel’s spokespersons.
According to Greenberg, “Intel continues to work closely with Google to enable future versions of Android, including Jelly Bean, on our family of low power Atom processors.” Naturally, Intel’s spokeswoman “neglected” to announce any kind of timeframe for the Android 4.1 updates, which should help cool off some of the enthusiasm generated by the news.
It’s also worth noting that before current Intel-based gadgets will be able to take the leap to Jelly Bean, they’ll first need to be upgraded to Android 4.0 ICS. Both the Lava Xolo X900 and the Orange San Diego are running Gingerbread for the time being, which seriously affects their chances to get Jelly Bean by the end of the year.
Ironically, it’s possible some unreleased Intel-based Android devices would get Jelly Bean before the Xolo X900 and the San Diego. We know that Motorola and Vizio have plans to launch Android-based smartphones and tablets powered by Intel’s Medfield platform soon, and there’s a shot, albeit a slim one, that these new devices will come with 4.1 JB out of the box.
As far as Intel’s next-generation Atom chip, Clover Trail, goes, it has zero chances of ever being paired with Jelly Bean, for one simple reason. The new processor will only be powering Microsoft Windows 8 upcoming slates, if we are to believe PCWorld’s usually trustworthy sources.
To recap, Intel is saying that is currently working on Jelly Bean ports for gadgets that haven’t yet received ICS updates, all while tech users don’t seem very interested in the respective devices, due to their limited availability and unattractive specs. On top of it, there’s no news about a next-generation Intel chip for Android gadgets. Okay, can I reconsider that “bold future plans” claim made in the article’s opening paragraph?
SOURCES PC World
TAGS Android 4.1intelIntel AtomIntel MedfieldJelly BeanJelly Bean UpdateOrange San DiegoXolo X900
