Acer has debuted an Intel x86-powered smartphone built around the latter company’s Lexington SoC architecture which is aimed at emerging mobile markets.
The Liquid C1 – available in Thailand this February – runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). The handset boasts a 4.3 inch IPS display at 960×540 resolution, along with an 8MP rear camera.
As the crew at AndroidCentral notes, the Liquid C1 offers users a more premium appearance than previous Lexington reference devices.
“[No], nhe 1.2GHz single-core Intel Z2420 chip won’t scream by any stretch of the imagination,” writes Richard Devine of Android Central.
“[However], we’ve been impressed thus far with Intel’s previous single-core chips and their hyper-threading technology to offer a good compromise of performance and battery life.”
In other Intel related phone news, Santa Clara says it will be showcasing a number of new devices powered by its stalwart Clover Trail+ chip at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona.
Intel is also expected to showcase new dual-core smartphones along with other recently launched handsets, such as the 5.5 inch Lenovo K900, which is (currently) targeted at select Asian and Russian markets.
It should be noted that Intel has yet to introduce a smartphone in the US, although we can probably expect Santa Clara to do so at some point in the relatively near future, say within a year or two.
For now, though, Intel seems to be content with building up overseas market share and establishing an x86 beachhead in ARM territory. Entry into the US mobile market will come at a later date, after the industry heavyweight has managed to consolidate its position in several key overseas markets.
