Lava XOLO X900 Begins Intel's Smartphone Attack On April 23

The first Intel-powered Android smartphone will go on sale April 23, the Lava XOLO X900, running Gingerbread on Medfield in a $424 package for the Indian market. Based on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom Z2460, with a 4.03-inch 1024 x 600 LCD touchscreen, quadband HSPA+ (850/900/1900/2100) and 8-megapixel camera, the XOLO X900 will see an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade "shortly," the chip company claims.

Intel is pushing its camera skills with the new handset, promising a burst mode capable of grabbing 10 pictures shot in under a second, together with 1080p video recording. There's also 1080p HD video encoding and playback support, thanks to a 400MHz GPU, while battery life is tipped at up to 5hrs of 3G browsing, up to 45hrs of audio, or up to 8hrs of talktime.

There's also microUSB and micro HDMI connectivity, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo speakers, twin microphones with ambient noise cancelation, and 16GB of internal storage. RAM is 1GB, and there's WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

Orange Medfield phone demo:

Although not an especially interesting device in its own right – especially compared to existing Android flagships like the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy Nexus – the XOLO X900 represents a huge step forward for Intel. The company has been talking about its smartphone plans for several years, but power-hungry and expensive chips have prevented it from bringing anything to market. Medfield is the first to reach the stage where a commercial launch is feasible.

"The boundaries of personal computing are expanding" Mike Bell, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group said of the launch. "As we enter the India market with our first smartphone from Lava, the device not only showcases the rich capabilities and user benefits of Intel computing, but also highlights the exciting possibilities of what's still to come."

The XOLO X900 will go on sale in Indian stores on Monday, April 23 priced at INR 22000 ($424), with broader availability later in May. No word on North American or European sales at this stage, though European carrier Orange is expected to begin selling a Medfield phone of its own in the near future.

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