During its earnings call yesterday, Intel CEO Paul Ortellini confirmed to investors and selected press that the chipmaker was actively working on porting Google’s Android Honeycomb from its base ARM supported version to the x86 instruction set.
With the confirmation of the port and subsequent work to bring Android to intel based products such as chipsets and hardware, the chipmaker is hedging its bets now that Nokia has pulled out of active MeeGo development. To add to the confirmation, Ortellini also confirmed that the x86 Honeycomb build would be available on Intel-based tablets by the end of the year, with deployment on smartphones beginning next year.
Intel initially began development of its own Linux-based operating system for netbooks in Moblin that was stillborn until coming to a joint agreement with Nokia to merge its Maemo Linux with Moblin to create MeeGo in 2009. The intention behind MeeGo was to develop a mobile operating system to compete in the marketplace and meant for intel’s perpetually stillborn mobile hardware platforms, such as Moorestown for smartphones and now Medfield. With Nokia’s recent moves to shift away from Symbian and MeeGo to Windows Phone 7 for its smartphone strategy, intel looks to also shift away from the MeeGo project, despite assurances that it would continue development following Nokia’s Microsoft announcement earlier this year.
