Flashback: a look back at Intel-powered smartphones and tablets - GSMArena.com news - GSMArena.com

While ARM and Qualcomm person released immoderate awesome mobile GPUs, we benignant of privation that Nvidia would commencement making smartphone chipsets again oregon astatine slightest licence GPU designs. AMD dipped its toes backmost successful again, wherefore shouldn't Nvidia? For present we tin lone reminisce astir Nvidia-powered phones. The GPU shaper isn't the lone 1 to driblet retired of the contention either, Texas Instruments was farily fashionable astatine 1 constituent too.

And past determination is Intel. Still the ascendant supplier of laptop, desktop and server CPUs, Intel's clip arsenic a chipset shaper for mobile devices didn't permission specified a legacy. It did commencement okay, though, and strangely capable it started with ARM.

Intel licensed the ARMv5 acquisition acceptable and built connected it to make Xscale. The archetypal chips were the PXA210 and PXA250, moving astatine 200MHz and 400MHz, respectively, and they were aimed astatine PDAs, Personal Digital Assistants (from a modern position we'd telephone them "smartphones without the telephone part").

Intel was targeting high-end PDAs and successful 2002 that meant pocketable devices that could decode video and MP3s and had features similar wireless connectivity. Here are immoderate absorbing numbers astir these chips:

• the PXA210 outgo $17, the PXA250 was $39.20 (in 2002 dollars)
• the PXA250 consumed 256mW astatine 200MHz and 411mW astatine 300Mhz
• the PXA250 measured 17x17mm and came successful a 256-pin shot grid array, the PXA210 was chopped down to 225 pins (by utilizing a 16-bit information autobus alternatively of 32-bit)

The PXA250 powered the likes of the Samsung i700. This 1 did person compartment connectivity (2G with GPRS data), a 240 x 320px resistive interaction display, a azygous VGA camera and an MMC paper slot. It ran Windows PocketPC 2003 Phone variation (which has precise small to bash with the Windows Phone that came later).

The Samsung i300 is an absorbing one. Not a PDA clearly, this ran Windows Mobile 2003 SE Smartphone. It was a chunky thing, measuring 20mm thick, and it had a ample (for the time) magnitude of retention - a 3GB microdrive.

The Samsung i750 was besides phone-like, however, dissimilar the i300 it had a touchscreen. A tiny 2.6" resistive touchscreen, but still. While the slider plan fto you fell the keypad, the beforehand was adorned with a astonishing fig of hardware buttons. The i750 was adjacent thicker astatine 22mm, but it didn't person a microdrive. Instead it utilized 1 of those newfangled microSD cards for other storage.

Samsung i700 • Samsung i300 • Samsung i750

Motorola had immoderate funny designs from that era. The Motorola A1200 was reasonably emblematic with a transparent flip screen that protected the resistive interaction show (and prevented accidental touches). This show was someway tinier than the i750 1 astatine 2.4".

The Motorola Q8 went aft the BlackBerry demographic with a hardware QWERTY beneath the show (2.4" landscape). There were besides flip phones similar the A910 - not arsenic crisp arsenic a Razr, this 1 is absorbing is that it avoided the Microsoft hegemony and ran a Linux-based OS instead. The E680 was different illustration of a Linux phone.

Motorola A1200 • Motorola Q8 • Motorola A910 • Motorola E680

O2 XDA devices beryllium connected this database arsenic well. The O2 XDA II, for example, had a "huge" 3.5" show (still 240 x 320px, though). There was besides the i-mate PDA2, a reasonably modular device. For an oddball design, cheque retired the tiny laptop that was the Qtek 9000.

By the way, bash these consciousness similar they person thing successful common? Besides the XScale chipsets we mean. That's right, they were each made by HTC backmost successful its ODM days.

O2 XDA II • i-mate PDA2 • Qtek 9000

BlackBerry utilized XScale chips excessively - they were featured connected immoderate of the astir fashionable models similar the BB Pearl 8100, Pearl Flip 8220, the Curve 8300 and more.

BlackBerry Pearl 8100 • BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 • BlackBerry Curve 8300

Palm utilized XScale chips arsenic well, moving mostly the company's PalmOS, though determination were Windows Mobile devices similar the Treo 500v.

Palm Centro • Palm Treo 500v • Palm Treo 650 • Palm Treo 680

In 2006, conscionable 4 years aft launch, XScale was sold to Marvell, putting an extremity to Intel's ARM adventure.

Okay, present let's speech astir the phones that you were reasoning of erstwhile you started speechmaking - those Android phones that were powered by Intel Atom chips.

Motorola was an aboriginal adopter with the likes of the RAZR one successful 2012. It ran connected an Atom Z2460 with 2 x86 CPU cores (2GHz, 32-bit) and a PowerVR 544MP2 GPU.

Motorola RAZR one XT890

This was a reasonably emblematic setup - Intel CPUs were designed for larger devices with progressive cooling, truthful whittling that down to a smartphone signifier origin proved challenging. The institution could lone acceptable 2 CPU cores, but they were accelerated - they had immoderate of the champion single-core show you could get backmost then.

But since determination were lone 2 of them, multi-core show was beneath quad-core ARM designs (the first of which appeared besides successful 2012). Atoms did enactment Hyperthreading, that is each CPU could tally 2 hardware threads simultaneously, but it wasn't arsenic bully arsenic really having doubly arsenic galore cores.

Two years aboriginal Asus utilized the aforesaid procreation Atom chips successful the archetypal ever Zenfones. These were inactive utilizing somewhat improved the Z2500 bid of chips from 2013 (still 32nm, though).

Asus Zenfone 4 (2014) • Asus Zenfone 5 A500CG (2014) • Asus Zenfone 6 A600CG (2014)

The adjacent generation, the Atom Z3000 series, did spell up to quad-core CPUs, successful portion acknowledgment to dropping to a 22nm node. These were utilized successful the likes of the stylish Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe and the Zenfone Zoom ZX550. As discussed successful a erstwhile article, the Zoom had a 28-84mm periscope telephoto lens with creaseless zoom. This exertion was mislaid for a fewer years, but it is making a comeback.

Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML • Asus Zenfone Zoom ZX550

Intel chips were featured successful Asus' transforming PadFone bid excessively - these could slot into a tablet dock to erstwhile you wanted a larger screen. There was the confusingly named Fonepad 7 too, a tablet with telephone functionality (unlike the PadFone, this couldn't crook into anything). The Transformer Pad could crook into an Android laptop, though.

Asus PadFone mini (Intel) • PadFone mini 4G (Intel) • Fonepad 7 (2014) • Transformer Pad TF103C

Dell had transforming tablets arsenic well, similar the Venue 10 7000. The heavy cylindrical portion connected 1 broadside could slot into a keyboard dock. The smaller Venue 8 7000 was meant for standalone usage, but it besides had an antithetic plan with a sizable front-facing speaker. These were absorbing followups to the accepted Venue 7 and 8.

Dell Venue 10 7000 • Dell Venue 8 7000 • Dell Venue 7 • Dell Venue 8

In 2015 Acer released the Predator 8 - arsenic you tin archer by its design, this was a gaming tablet. It was powered by the Atom x7-Z8700, which featured 4 CPU cores (no Hyperthreading) and an Intel-developed GPU.

Much much casual were the likes of Lenonvo's Yoga Tablet 2, which was designed for multimedia depletion astatine location with its built-in kickstand and almighty speakers.

Acer Predator 8 • Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10.1

The Nokia N1 from 2014 looks rather regular connected the aboveground and it is, but what made it antithetic is that it was made by Microsoft soon aft it acquired Nokia's Devices & Services division. It runs Android too, though that is simply a spot little unusual erstwhile you see that Microsoft released the archetypal Android-powered Nokia devices a fewer months earlier (the Nokia X series).

Nokia N1

The operation of an Intel CPU and Microsoft Windows is truthful communal that it has a nickname, Wintel. So wherever are the Intel-powered Windows tablets? Well, Microsoft was trying to interruption escaped from its dependency connected Intel (and x86 CPUs successful general) by processing Windows RT that ran connected ARM. This brought america slates similar the Nokia Lumia 2520.

There were immoderate Atom-powered Windows tablets too, since Allview didn't rather bargain into the full "Windows connected ARM" thing. One was besides a spot of a transformer - it ran Windows 10, which made a batch much consciousness than trying to get a laptop acquisition retired of Android 4.4 (we're looking astatine you, Asus). Allview did marque a KitKat tablet (the Viva i10G), though thankfully it didn't spell the transformer way with it.

Allview Wi8G • Allview Wi10N PRO • Allview Viva i10G

There are galore much Atom-powered tablets - from Xiaomi, Samsung, HP, Micromax and others.

Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 • Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 P5210 • HP Pro Slate 10 EE G1 • Micromax Canvas Tab P690

Here is simply a instrumentality we didn't expect to prime an Intel spot - the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45. Yes, a smartwatch. An costly 1 astatine that, $1,200/€1,100 for the 41mm exemplary astatine launch. It had a titanium lawsuit and a ceramic bezel astir the 1.39" AMOLED show (covered with sapphire glass). And an Intel Atom Z3000 bid chipset moving Android Wear OS 2.1. Oh, by the way, that terms we mentioned was conscionable the starting point. Slap capable diamonds connected this puppy and it could easy turn to 6 digits.

Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45

The past instrumentality we privation to notation is this quality - the Nokia 9000 Communicator. It didn't usage an Intel spot technically, but alternatively was powered by an AMD-made 486 moving astatine 33MHz. You tin read more astir this connection powerhouse successful a erstwhile Flashback post.

Nokia 9000 Communicator (image credit)

As you tin tell, things dried retired astir 2014/2015. Attempts astatine mainstream adoption had failed and lone oddball designs were relegated to utilizing Intel chips. The institution yet stopped making Atom chips for smartphones and tablets and manufacturers had moved connected anyway.

Intel inactive had its modem division, until selling it to Apple successful 2019. Apple itself dropped into from the Mac computers with the introduction of the Apple M chipsets.

Intel is wholly retired of the mobile crippled now, but it had bigger issues to interest astir successful the caller years (its foundry advancement had stalled, giving TSMC the lead). Android inactive supports x86, though you are improbable to spot this successful action. Windows 11 tin tally Android apps, adjacent ones meant for ARM devices, but that is enabled by emulation - the Intel Bridge Technology, which was developed by (you guessed it) Intel.