Mobile phone giant Nokia and semiconductor manufacturer Intel have agreed on closer cooperation in the manufacture of future devices. The aim is to combine Intel’s software and microchip architectures with Nokia’s expertise in mobile telephony.
As part of the deal, Intel will licence patents of Nokia’s 3G modem technology.
The companies are not giving precise details on what kinds of future devices are in store.
A likely product is a portable miniature computer with a built-in connection via the mobile telephone network to the Internet. The idea is to improve the devices’ multimedia performance and to develop new kinds of connections for the devices.
Nokia Mobile Phones unit director Kai Öistämä said during a telephone conference on Tuesday that the agreement with Intel involves long-term strategic cooperation. Öistämö says that the companies also hope to bring new dimensions to the design of the devices, the materials used, and the displays.
An important part of the cooperation is the inclusion of the community that developed the open source code in the planning of new products.
Nokia and Intel make separate mention of the Linux-based Maemo and Moblin platforms, both of which they hope to promote. Nokia currently uses Maemo in its products.
Intel has long been a close partner of the software company Microsoft. It has previously worked with Nokia in research and product development.
