Today's smartphones, though, use ARM-based chips from companies such as Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and perhaps most concerning for Intel, now Nvidia as well. Those products are hogging the spotlight at the Mobile World Congress show here.
So when will Intel-powered smartphones arrive?
"This year," Otellini, Intel's CEO, said, though he was reserved about further details. "We can't preannounce our customers. I think it's going to be pretty exciting."
Mobile devices have been a painful experience for Intel for years, but it's clear the technology remains a priority. Microsoft, like Intel a PC-generation company that's also been a mobile-market laggard, inked a high-profile partnership with Nokia to try to accelerate its push to relevance. Intel clearly understands the urgency, too.
"We see an emerging class of ultramobile devices," Otellini said.