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Intel-based smartphone unveiled by Orange for UK and France

Europe's first "Intel Inside" smartphone has been unveiled by the telecoms firm Everything Everywhere.

The San Diego handset is powered by Intel's single-core Atom Z2460 processor and runs Google's Android Gingerbread system.

It was manufactured by the Chinese firm Gigabyte, but will be marketed under EE's Orange brand.

The launch marks Intel's entry into a market dominated by chips based on designs by British firm Arm Holdings.

It will go on sale in the UK and France on 6 June. There has been no announcement as yet for other markets.

Growth market

The handset is the third Intel-based smartphone, following the launch of Lava's XOLO X900 in India in April and the Lenovo LePhone K800 in China on Wednesday.

Intel has also partnered with Google's Motorola Mobility division with devices scheduled to launch in the second half of the year.

Sales of mobile devices are growing at a much faster rate than PCs and some analysts believe the dividing line between the two sectors will blur, so success could be critical for Intel's future prospects.

"This is part of our strategy to grow into what we refer to as adjacent markets, whether that be premium high performance smartphone products in the mature markets or lower cost solutions in some of the emerging markets, and everything in between," Graham Palmer, Intel's country manager for the UK and Ireland told the BBC.

"This is absolutely a core part of Intel's strategy to allow us to take our technology into these new growth sectors."

[ul=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18277595]Source BBC[/url]