Intel’s Android-powered Red Ridge tablet spotted at the FCC

Intel’s x86 entry into the ARM-dominated smartphone and tablet market is progressing rather slowly.

Nevertheless, Santa Clara remains optimistic (at least outwardly) about its long-term mobile prospects. Indeed, the company is apparently prepping an Android-powered tablet dubbed Red Ridge.

The device – spotted by Engadget – was recently caught making its way through the FCC’s lengthy approval process.

Although confirmed specs are rather sparse at this point, we do know the device is powered by Intel’s x86 Medfield chip (clock speed is still an enigma) and offers support for 802.11a/b/g/n WIFi, Bluetooth and NFC.

In related tablet news, it appears as if Asus may be preparing to launch two new tablets under its MeMO Pad brand – one with a 7-inch screen and the other sporting a 10-inch display.

As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes, the last time Asus planned to introduce a MeMO tablet the company ended up ditching its original designs in order to work with Google on the $199 Nexus 7 tablet.

“[So it’s entirely] possible that Asus could be planning to revive the MeMO brand to introduce new low-cost Android tablets as alternatives to its higher-priced Transformer Pad tablets,” Linder explained.

Indeed, Asus is already readying a $99 tablet for the South African market which features a WonderMedia WM8950 processor paired with a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It remains unclear if the MeMO is a variant of or at least similar to the SA version, a possibility that certainly seems more than likely.

Confirmed specs for the 10-inch MeMO tablet include Bluetooth, WiFi and a camera. The same goes for the the entry-level 7-incher, sans the camera.