Intel has acquired the telecommunication assets of Via Technologies, a developer of low-cost computer platforms. Financial details of the deal have not been revealed, but Intel is expected to have received numerous telecommunication technologies patents.
Via assets to help in low-cost mobile SoCs
Intel and Via entered the deal in late July, but it closed on the 30th of September, 2015, reports DigiTimes. It must be noted that Intel was planning to acquire Via Telecom itself for about $500 million, earlier this year. But now it appears that the chip maker has agreed to just acquire some assets in the company rather than going for the full company.
Via Telecom’s offers low-end quad-core ARM Cortex-A7-based system-on-chip with CDMA, EVDA, GSM/GPRS/EDGE communication capabilities along with baseband processors and modems. Intel’s Atom system-on-chip for the smartphones and tablets could benefit from Via Telecom’s products as they mostly serve entry-level smartphones and tablets. Intel could use Via Telecom’s patents for creating low-cost mobile SoCs for emerging markets.
Intel could help Google with $50 handsets
Google, which sells premium handsets like Nexus 5, also tried it hand with $100 Android One handsets in India last year. However, the low-cost phones, powered by MediaTek, failed to attain commercial success in the region.
Google, however, did not give up on the project, and instead it is now planning to offer Android One phones with a $50 price tag. T he problem is MediaTek has still not come up with a processor that could meet the suggested $50 price tag. This is where Intel could come in.
After contracting with Intel, Google could team with one or two sub-contractors for the $50 Android phone. The Internet firm could ask LG or Huawei to assemble the phones like they did with Nexus handsets. This will also help Google in ending its dependence on the local Indian smartphone makers, who could find it hard to make profits while selling the $50 handsets, says a report from Seeking Alpha by Alcaraz Equity Research.
Google has used Intel’s x86 chips to help it dominate the education market. Since Intel’s x86 processors are compatible with any modern operating system, they are better than any of their rivals. Since Microsoft is ignoring the Atom x3 and Atom x5 for its Lumia phones, Google would be able to get a sweet deal from Intel as the chip maker is desperately looking to expand its market presence in the mobile and tablets market, according to the report.
