Orange launches Intel powered smartphone

BARCELONA— Global mobile carrier Orange has announced it will be putting out its own branded Intel Atom powered cell phone, dubbed the Santa Clara.

The phone, based on Intel’s Atom Z240 Medfield platform, has a clock speed of 1.6Ghz and runs Google’s Android operating system, which has been specially optimized. The phone will ship with Android Gingerbread at launch, with an upgrade to Ice cream Sandwich soon thereafter.

In addition to a 1024×600 4-inch screen, the device also sports an 8-megapixel camera capable of 10 photos per second and 1080p video capture. It also has an HDMI output which works via an MHL port and mobile wallet functionality thanks to embedded NFC.

The phone weighs just 117g and measures 123mm by 63mm, with a thickness of just 9.99mm. That’s lighter than Apple’s iPhone 4S which weighs 140g and measures 115.2mm by 58.6mm with a thickness of 9.3mm.