Intel and Orange Launch San Diego Smartphone In UK

Intel announced on Thursday, May 31 that the San Diego smart phone, which is powered by an Intel chip, will be available to customers on June 6. San Diego will become Europe’s first Intel run smart phone after Orange releases it in the United Kingdom this month.

Originally known as the Orange Santa Clara, the new device from the chip-maker will have an Intel Atom processor Z2460 and will support the HSPA+ network by utilizing the Intel XMM 6260 Platform. The touch screen phone has 4.03-inch display, HD video and can handle 1080p video capture. The device also possesses image stabilization and HDMI out. The camera is an 8-megapixel version with a burst mode that allows users to capture 10 images with in one second. More goodies include HD voice, A-GPS and Bluetooth 2.1. The phone will be run using Googles Android software with a manufacturer layer on top. The San Diego phone itself is manufacture by Taiwan based Gigabyte.

Orange will offer the Orange Pay As You Go plan and have the smartphone on sale for £199.99. Buyers will be able to add to their accounts by purchasing £10 chunks of 250MB data per month for one year. Buyers that make a longer term commitment with a two-year service contract will get the phone for free. The £15.50 per month plan with 50 calling minutes, 50 texts, 100MB of data and free phone will only be valid until June 25. The phone will also offer better coverage across the United Kingdom by utilizing the T-Mobile network.

Intel has struggled to create a foothold in the rapidly growing mobile market because most smartphones do not use the popular x86-based products from Intel and instead prefer the ARM processor. Intel tried to change things around when in March they announced the Mobile World Congress their intentions of launching an Intel powered phone in the UK. Some observers found this interesting since Intel’s previous April launch in India did not meet expectations.