Nokia and Intel Team Up for New Mobile Platform

I pulled up one of my favorite webpages, Techmeme, just now and found a bunch of stories about Nokia and Intel teaming up to build a new mobile platform using open source Linux operating system.

The reason, according to Brian Caulfield at Forbes, is:

Propelling this all is Apple which has rolled through the smart-phone business like a nitro-fueled tank. The company announced Monday that it has sold more than 1 million units of its latest handset, the iPhone 3G S, since it went on sale Friday in an announcement that included the first public statement from Steve Jobs since the Apple chief went on medical leave in January.

Apple's progress is more than just a direct challenge to Nokia. While Apple relies on processors built by Samsung around designs from U.K.-based ARM to power its smart phones, it has recruited a strong team of chip designers since its acquisition of PA Semi last year. That could pose a challenge to Intel's efforts to put its chips at the heart of the next generation of mobile devices.

There are other challenges the chip maker and Nokia must face in order to make their partnership a successful one. Intel, for example, has to make its processors more power efficient--so they can work well in ever-shrinking devices--and fast. If the company can't do this quickly enough, it may be a while until Nokia puts Intel's processors at the center of its handset lineup.And while Nokia has an enormous installed base, Apple, Research In Motion and Palm are all building software ecosystems around their handsets, making the handset industry look more and more like the early PC industry. The Nokia deal with Intel could give it a stronger position in that game.

Sounds like Apple is forcing people's hands, having sold over a million iPhone 3G S's over the weekend. Of course, James Kendrick, at jkOnTheRun, thinks it's all BS, as they didn't announce any products or is the agreement exclusive to anyone...

something to keep an eye on...