Intel partnership with Google on Android no guarantee of mobile success

Intel's announcement that it will work more closely with Google on optimising the Android platform for Intel chips has been broadly welcomed as a good move by analysts, but experts argue that the jury is still out on whether Intel can compete with ARM in the mobile computing space.

Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini announced at IDF on Tuesday that the partnership will build on the firms' existing collaboration to enable Intel architecture on Chrome OS and Google TV, as well their work on the Android SDK and Native Development Kit.

Otellini and Andy Rubin, Google's senior vice president of mobile, pointed to the increasing product innovation and choice that the collaboration would bring.

Analysts have generally described closer co-operation between Intel and Google as a good thing for the chip firm as it seeks to make its products more relevant to the smartphone and tablet markets.

Intel has a legacy of providing chips for PCs and servers, and has struggled in the past to produce chips which are energy efficient enough to run in smaller devices without draining the battery or requiring excessive cooling.

Tim Coulling, an analyst with Canalys, told V3 that the partnership is a necessary step for Intel as the company looks to new market opportunities, and an obvious move given the impressive growth of the Android platform.

"In the past, Intel's collaboration efforts have been in driving the port of Android from ARM-based hardware," he said.

"Hopefully as the partnership goes on it will do more work at an earlier opportunity. Intel needs to ensure that, as new versions of Android are released, they are built for Intel hardware at the same time so it can keep up with the great rate of innovation at ARM."

Whether this deal will give Intel the extra push it needs to compete in the mobile space remains to be seen, however, Coulling added.