Android Coming Soon to an x86-based Phone Near You

While not the first to do it (that title goes to Acer), Intel has now ported Android to the x86 architecture. While the obvious application for this is tablets and netbooks, Intel has said that they have it running on smartphones based on their Atom line of processors. Most smartphone processors are based on the ARM architecture, while Intel’s processors on the other hand are typically x86 based. By porting Android to the x86 architecture, Intel are clearly trying to make a name for themselves in the smartphone market.

The original article at Yahoo! News says that “certain customers” are interested in using the port, but also, interestingly, Android isn’t the only phone OS that Intel has an interest in, quoting the general manager of Intel’s software and services group, Renee James, as saying “Intel is enabling all OSes for Atom phones”.

As the functionality of computers and smartphones continues to converge, it seems your next smartphone could be even more like a PC than previously thought.