Android devices running Intel SoCs due in first half of 2012

While we’ve been hearing about Intel’s development of processors for mobile phones and tablets for a while now, it now looks like things are finally coming to a head – with actual units running Android out in the wild. The expected availability remains vague however, with the first devices scheduled to hit retail shelves in the first half of 2012.

MIT’s Technology Review has reportedly been testing prototype Android smartphones and tablets running on Intel’s Medfield processor, an SoC chipset we’d heard of back in February, at MWC 2011. You might also remember Intel tying up with Google in the recent past, in the hope to enable an optimized Intel platform for future Android devices.

The reference designs, or prototype smartphones and tablets have reportedly been sent to various manufacturers across the world, to convince them of the platform’s viability for their upcoming devices. So far, there’s been no word which OEMs helped make the prototypes.

According to the Technology Review report, the smartphone prototype was similar in design to the iPhone 4, but supposedly, was a lot lighter. The reviewers apparently found the phone powerful and smooth, capable of playing Blu-ray video without a hitch, or stream it to connected TV. Web browsing was also considered to be speedy and smooth.

Notably, the Intel smartphone prototype featured a versatile camera, capable of a full-fledged burst mode that enabled the capture of up to ten 8MP images at a rate of 15/sec. Further tests by Intel itself supposedly showed the device to have better browsing and graphics performance than the top three Android devices in the market today, combined with a lower power consumption.

Coming to the Intel's tablet prototype, the report said the device, running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, was similar to the iPad in width and weight, but had a larger screen. It apparently delivered better performance than current Android Honeycomb tablets in the market. 

Relevantly, AMD is not missing from the action, with the Android x86 operating system already optimized for the AMD Fusion Brazos platform. Also check out Intel's leaked roadmap, from Computex 2011.