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While ARM and Qualcomm produce amazing mobile GPUs, we wish Nvidia would start making smartphone chipsets again, or at least license GPU designs. Why shouldn’t AMD dip their toes back in and Nvidia? For now, we can only remember Nvidia-powered phones. The GPU maker isn’t the only one to drop out, Texas Instruments was also very popular at one point.
And then there’s Intel. Intel, a dominant supplier of notebook, desktop and server processors, has left no such legacy as a maker of chipsets for mobile devices. It started well, but surprisingly, it started with ARM.
Intel licensed the ARMv5 instruction set and built upon it to create Xscale. The first chips were the PXA210 and PXA250, operating at 200 MHz and 400 MHz respectively, and they were aimed at PDAs, Personal Digital Assistants (in modern terms we call them “smartphones without the phone part”).
Intel targeted high-end PDAs and in 2002 introduced these pocket-sized devices that could handle video and MP3 files and had features such as wireless connectivity. Here are some interesting numbers about these chips:
- PXA210 is $17, PXA250 is $39.20 (in 2002 dollars)
- The PXA250 consumed 256 mW at 200 MHz and 411 mW at 300 MHz.
- The PXA250 measures 17x17mm and comes in a 256-pin ball grid array, while the PXA210 is reduced to 225 pins (using a 16-bit data bus instead of 32-bit).
The PXA250 runs the likes of the Samsung i700. It had cellular connectivity (2G with GPRS data), a 240 x 320px resistive touch display, a single VGA camera, and an MMC card slot. It ran Windows PocketPC 2003 Phone (no relation to the later Windows Phone).
Samsung i300 is interesting. Rather than a PDA, this runs a Windows Mobile 2003 SE smartphone. It was a big thing, 20mm thick, and it had massive (for now) storage – a 3GB microdrive.
The Samsung i750 was similar to a phone, but unlike the i300, it had a touch screen. Small 2.6-inch resistive touchscreen, but still. While the slider design allows the keyboard to be hidden, the front is adorned with a surprising number of hardware buttons. The i750 was even thicker at 22mm, but it didn’t have a microdrive. Instead it used one of those new microSD cards for extra storage.
Samsung i700 • Samsung i300 • Samsung i750
Motorola had some interesting designs during that era. The Motorola A1200 was more typical with a clear flip cover that protected (and prevented accidental touches) the resistive touchscreen display. This display was smaller than the i750 display at 2.4 inches.
The Motorola Q8 followed the BlackBerry demographic with QWERTY hardware under the display (2.4 inches). There were also flip phones like the A910 – not as sharp as the Razr, which is interesting because it ran away from Microsoft’s hegemony. Instead, the Linux-based OS.E680 was another example of a Linux phone.
Motorola A1200 • Motorola Q8 • Motorola A910 • Motorola E680
O2 XDA devices are also included in this list. For example, the O2 XDA II had a “larger” 3.5-inch display (also 240 x 320px). There was also the i-mate PDA2, a fairly standard device. For a whimsical design, consider a small laptop. It was Qtek 9000.
By the way, do they seem to have anything in common? In addition to XScale chipsets, we mean. That’s right, they were all made by HTC during the ODM days.
O2 XDA II • i-mate PDA2 • Qtek 9000
BlackBerry also used XScale chips – they are featured in some of the most popular models such as BB Pearl 8100, Pearl Flip 8220, Curve 8300 and others.
BlackBerry Pearl 8100 • BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 • BlackBerry Curve 8300
Palm also used XScale chips, mainly running the company’s PalmOS system, but there were also Windows Mobile devices such as the Treo 500v.
Palm Centro • Palm Treo 500v • Palm Treo 650 • Palm Treo 680
In 2006, four years after launch, XScale was sold to Marvell, ending Intel’s ARM adventure.
Okay, now let’s talk about the phones you probably thought of when you started reading – Android phones powered by Intel Atom chips.
Motorola was an early adopter of the likes of the RAZR i in 2012. It ran on an Atom Z2460 with two x86 CPU cores (2GHz, 32-bit) and a PowerVR 544MP2 GPU.
Motorola RAZR and XT890
This was a fairly typical setup – Intel CPUs are designed for larger devices with active cooling, so it was difficult to scale down to a smartphone form factor. The company could only fit 2 CPU cores, but they were fast – they had the best single-core performance you could get at the time.
But since there were only two of them, multi-core performance was inferior to quad-core ARM designs (the first of which also appeared in 2012). Atoms support Hyperthreading, meaning each CPU can run two hardware threads at the same time, but it’s not really as good as having twice as many cores.
Two years later, Asus used the same generation of Atom chips in the first Zenfones. They still used the slightly improved Z2500 chip from 2013 (again 32nm).
Asus Zenfone 4 (2014) • Asus Zenfone 5 A500CG (2014) • Asus Zenfone 6 A600CG (2014)
The next generation, the Atom Z3000 series, moved down to the 22nm node, moving up to quad-core processors in part. These are used in the stylish Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe and Zenfone Zoom ZX550. As discussed in a previous article, the Zoom has a smooth-zoom 28-84mm periscope telephoto lens. This technology has been lost for several years, but it is making a comeback.
Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML • Asus Zenfone Zoom ZX550
Intel chips are also present in Asus’s changing PadFone series – which can include a slot in the tablet’s dock if you want a bigger screen. There was also the confusing Fonepad 7, a tablet with phone functionality (unlike the PadFone, which doesn’t turn into anything). The Transformer Pad can turn into an Android laptop.
Asus PadFone mini (Intel) • PadFone mini 4G (Intel) • Fonepad 7 (2014) • Transformer Pad TF103C
Dell has also had transformative tablets like the Venue 10 7000. A thick cylindrical part on one side is attached to the keyboard dock. The smaller Venue 8 7000 was intended for standalone use, but it also had an unusual design with a large front-facing speaker. These were interesting continuations of the traditional 7 and 8 seats.
Dell Venue 10 7000 • Dell Venue 8 7000 • Dell Venue 7 • Dell Venue 8
In 2015, Acer released the Predator 8 – as its design suggests, it was a gaming tablet. It is powered by the Atom x7-Z8700, which has four CPU cores (no Hyperthreading) and an Intel-designed GPU.
Lenovo’s Yoga Tablet 2 is designed for home multimedia consumption with a built-in stand and powerful speakers.
Acer Predator 8 • Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 10.1
The 2014 Nokia N1 looks ordinary on the outside, but what makes it unusual is that it was made shortly after Microsoft bought Nokia’s Devices & Services division. It also runs Android, but that’s not too surprising given that Microsoft launched the first Android-powered Nokia devices (the Nokia X series) a few months ago.
Nokia N1
The combination of Intel CPU and Microsoft Windows is so common that it has the nickname Wintel. So where are the Intel-powered Windows tablets? Yes, Microsoft tried to break away from dependence on Intel (and x86 processors in general) by developing Windows RT running on ARM. This brought us slates like the Nokia Lumia 2520.
There were also Atom-powered Windows tablets because Allview didn’t quite buy into the “Windows on ARM” thing. One of them was also a bit of a transformer – it ran Windows 10, which makes a lot more sense than trying to get a laptop experience out of Android 4.4 (we’re looking at you, Asus). Allview made a KitKat tablet (Viva i10G) but luckily it didn’t go down the path of the transformer with it.
Allview Wi8G • Allview Wi10N PRO • Allview Viva i10G
There are many more Atom-powered tablets – 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’s a device we didn’t think we’d pick an Intel chip for – the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45. Yes, a smartwatch. Expensive, $1,200/€1,100 for the 41mm model. It had a titanium body and a ceramic bezel around the 1.39-inch AMOLED display (coated with sapphire glass). And an Intel Atom Z3000 series chipset running Android Wear OS 2.1. By the way, this price we mentioned was a starting point. Hit this puppy with enough diamonds and he’ll easily grow to 6 figures.
Tag Heuer Connected modular 45
The last device we want to talk about is a beauty, the Nokia 9000 Communicator. It technically didn’t use an Intel chip, instead it was powered by an AMD-made 486 clocked at 33 MHz. You can read more about this communication power in a previous Flashback post.
Nokia 9000 Communicator (image credit)
As you can tell, things dried up in 2014/2015. Attempts at mainstream adoption failed, and only weird designs were given to use Intel chips. The company eventually stopped making Atom chips for smartphones and tablets, and manufacturers moved on anyway.
Before selling it to Apple in 2019, Intel still had its own modem division. Apple itself moved away from Macs with the introduction of the Apple M chipset.
Intel is now completely out of the mobile game, but it had bigger problems to worry about in recent years (its foundry progress stalled, giving TSMC the lead). Android still supports x86, but you won’t see it in practice. Windows 11 can run Android apps, even apps for ARM devices, but this is done via emulation – Intel’s (you guessed it) Intel Bridge Technology.
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