Intel Chip Quickens BlackBerry

RED HERRING covers the launch of Research In Motion's first BlackBerry with an Intel processor, the BlackBerry 8700c AKA Electron.

Todd Kort at Gartner said, "It is probably going to appeal to people who are looking for something in between a smart phone and a BlackBerry tablet-style wireless PDA. But it is still more data-centric than voice-centric.”

Kort liked the display and speed and pricing as well. "RIM is in a good position, and can afford to lose a little bit off that [margin]," he said.

Regarding Intel, Kort commented that "It means a lot. Intel is well behind [Texas Instruments] in terms of the cellular market, and gaining a sort of endorsement from RIM is certainly a strong endorsement."

Kort pointed to Intel’s previous efforts and said, "That previous generation chip really did not do very well at all. So it’s good for Intel that their next-generation devices got off to such a strong start with the BlackBerry, and I think RIM’s intention is to continue to use Intel chips for their next generation of devices.”

Kort added, "I think RIM would have used the previous-generation Intel chip except for the fact that it didn’t quite make it in terms of power management capabilities. RIM has always had good battery life on most of their devices, with the exception of the Nextel device with push-to-talk capability. This time, Intel and RIM each brought something to the party, in terms of power conservation, and they learned a lot."