Intel working with Chinese firms on TD-SCDMA devices

Some netbooks that use Intel chips are already designed to connect using the home-grown Chinese mobile standard

Intel is actively participating in the development of products that support China's next-generation mobile standard for release as early as next month, the head of Intel's Chinese operations said Wednesday.

Makers of PCs that use Intel chips have already started adding support for the home-grown Chinese mobile standard in their netbooks, or small, low-cost laptops, Ian Yang told reporters at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.

Firms like telecommunication equipment providers Huawei and ZTE could also use Intel chips in their infrastructure products for the standard, Yang said.

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Intel is actively participating in the development of products that support China's next-generation mobile standard for release as early as next month, the head of Intel's Chinese operations said Wednesday.

Makers of PCs that use Intel chips have already started adding support for the home-grown Chinese mobile standard in their netbooks, or small, low-cost laptops, Ian Yang told reporters at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.

Firms like telecommunication equipment providers Huawei and ZTE could also use Intel chips in their infrastructure products for the standard, Yang said.

Netbooks, increasingly popular in and out of China, have widely used Intel's Atom family of microprocessors launched one year ago.

China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier, has said it will support netbooks and some laptops that access the Internet through the Chinese 3G standard, TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), as it expands access to the network this year.

Netbooks are a significant opportunity for Intel in China and globally, Anand Chandrasekher, Intel's head of Ultra Mobility, said at the briefing.

Intel will partner with makers of devices that use TD-SCDMA and expand the capability of its products to support multiple wireless connections, Chandrasekher said.

"We are in a market cultivation standpoint right now [for netbooks]," Chandrasekher said. "We think the service providers and the carriers will be a significant channel for these netbook products."

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.