Orange And Intel Unveil San Diego Smartphone

Steve McCaskill,

First Intel-powered smartphone coming to the UK next week

Orange today unveiled its new Intel-powered Android smartphone, the San Diego, which will be released in the UK on 6 June.

First announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February and previously known as the ‘Santa Clara’, the San Diego represents Intel’s first foray into the UK smartphone market, and one of its first anywhere. Lava launched the Intel-based XOLO X900 in India in April and Lenovo delivered the LePhone K800 in China on Wednesday.

Intel Inside

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The device is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 processor, 16GB of memory and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It boasts a 4.03-inch capacitive display, an eight megapixel camera capable of 1080p video capture and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Orange is calling the smartphone the “best in class when you consider the price point” and is keen to stress the battery life of the San Diego, which apparently lasts for 14 days on standby. This is put down to the “great collaboration between two strong brands” and Intel’s “billions of dollars” invested in research and development.

“This is a really exciting milestone for Intel,” said Mike Bell, Intel vice president and general manager of its mobile and communications group, speaking at the device launch in London today.

He added that the company had worked closely with Google for software optimisation so that the device would be able to run many of the apps not designed for Intel-based smartphones. Orange told TechWeekEurope that most Android apps should be compatible with the San Diego. Future Intel-powered tablets and smartphones are expected from the likes of Motorola and Lenovo.

The San Diego will be available at Orange stores and online on 24-month price plans starting at £15.50 a month, while the device can be purchased on pay-as-you-go for £199.99 with a £10 top up, complete with a 250MB data allowance every month.

“We’re proud to be working with such an exciting partner as Intel and offering our customers the first Orange Intel-powered smartphone on the market,” said Paul Jevons, director of products and services at Orange UK.  “The San Diego is a great addition to our own-branded device portfolio and is testament to our heritage in offering consumers great value innovation.”

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