Intel has hired former Palm and Apple VP Mike Bell to help the chip company rapidly accelerate its presence in the crowded smartphone market.
So, if you were expecting Intel VP Dadi Perlmutter to stand up and say: “I coulda had class…I coulda been a smartphone contender” – well, just forget about it.
Bell, who now has Moore’s Law and Intel’s considerable war chest on his side, will undoubtedly do his utmost to help put X86 architecture back on the ARM-dominated handset map.
Indeed, an Intel spokesperson told TG Daily that the talented Bell brings a “wealth of experience” to the Santa Clara-based company.
“We are thrilled that he has joined Intel [and] look forward to working closely with Mike in his new role here,” said the spokesperson.
“Mike is heading up a team with the charter to build breakthrough smartphone reference designs with the explicit intent of accelerating Intel architecture into the market.”
According to the spokesperson, Bell is a “seasoned technology veteran” who led the team responsible for designing the Palm Pre and Pixi.
Prior to his time at Palm, Mike was a VP at Apple where he worked from 1991 to 2007 and made significant contributions to the iMac, Apple TV and iPhone programs.
Yes, successfully challenging Apple, ARM and Android may take some time, but Intel has never been one to back away from a challenge.
