Lava XOLO X900 is 1st Intel Atom ‘Medfield’ Powered Android Smartphone

By Tech Wire Asia | 19 April, 2012

Intel has confirmed the launch of a smartphone powered by its mobile Atom chipset, which will launch in India in the next few days.

Made by Indian manufacturer Lava, the XOLO X900 uses a Medfield class Atom chipset that promises better power efficiency without performance loss. The new Atom Z2460 system-on-chip design features enhanced multitasking through Intel’s hyperthreading technology.

The smartphone runs a dual-core 1.6 GHz Saltwell CPU, and will have 1GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. Data connectivity options include HSPA+. HDMI and NFC are likewise built in. The XOLO X900 will initially launch shipped with Androdid 2.3 Gingerbread, although Intel has promised to eventually upgrade it to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Memory and storage will be

Multimedia-wise, the smartphone will feature a 4.03 inch capacitive touchscreen, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash, which features a 10 fps burst mode and 1080p high-definition video recording.

Lava has partnered with Indian mobile retail company Croma, and the smartphone will be sold either through Croma or Lava’s online retail website.

Intel has also partnered with other smartphone manufacturers in pushing its Medfield class chipset, including Lenovo, Motorola and Orange. Lenovo is set to launch its K900 smartphone in May, while Orange is reportedly going to ship an Intel smartphone by June.

Intel is making a big push for its Medfield-class Atom platform in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. These devices are currently dominated by the ARM architecture, and there is concern whether x86 on mobile devices can make a big dent on ARM’s lead. Intel CEO Paul Otellini is confident that manufacturers will warm up to the platform, though, noting that even the biggest smartphone makers (Apple and Samsung) use ARM on their devices, but sell computers with Intel inside.

The Lava XOLO X900 will launch in India on April 23 at a price of 22,000 rupees (US$ 422.60).