Intel details its Atom Z2580 chip, destined for phones and tablets
Back at CES, Intel treated us to a sneak peek of its smartphone Medfield platform. And today, at Mobile World Congress, Chipzilla explained its entire lineup of smartphone processors and introduced the Z2580.
Let's talk about the low-end Intel processor first. Dubbed the Z2000, this "value smartphone" processor will be clocked at 1GHz and offer HSPA+ connectivity. I'd expect to see these in phones that are $100 on-contract or less.
Next up is the Medfield processor, the single-core Z2460. Intel claims that this processor is the start of the "performance smartphone" series of processors, with burst clock speeds at up to 2GHz. This Atom will stay at a clock of 1.3GHz for most tasks, though.
Finally, the Z2580 Atom is the top-end of the mobile Intel chips. This baby is dual-core and is two times faster than the Z2460. Besides being two times faster, the Z2580 also offers LTE connectivity alongside HSPA+, something the other two processors don't.
I'm a huge fan of Intel chips, although they are a bit pricey when compared to the competition. Still, that extra cash is justified by the performance you can get from Intel's goods. Of course, that's the desktop/laptop market; we'll have to wait and see just how that translates into smartphones.
[Carrypad]