Intel CEO Paul Otellini briefed Apple CEO Steve Jobs before the chip maker purchased Infineon’s wireless division, and apparently Mr. Jobs was pleased with Intel’s plans, according to Channel News.
“The industry was abuzz that this business unit was on the market, and there were a number of competing companies for it,” Mr. Otellini said. “I think [Apple was] very happy that Intel won the bid.”
Infineon builds 3G wireless chips, and Apple has been among the company’s clients. According to Intel, the Infineon Wireless Solutions division will operate as a stand-alone business and will continue to support its client base.
By bringing Infineon under its control Intel is strengthening its position in the 3G wireless market, and positioning itself to be a player in the LTE wireless data market as it rolls out. ” Intel has great capabilities and applications processors today, but bringing in the capabilities for 3G and ultimately LTE onto the chip, that makes a lot of sense to us from an economic and power standpoint,” he said.
Intel is hoping to bring its multi-function wireless chips to a long list of electronic devices such as laptop and tablet computers, as well as televisions.
Intel also recently purchased antivirus and security software maker McAfee with plans to add on-chip security to its product offerings. Combined with its Infineon Wireless Solutions purchase, Intel looks to be on its way to building more tightly integrated hardware solutions for mobile devices.