Intel quietly boosting its software in bid to get chips into smartphones

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Intel has worked hard over the years to shape its image: It is the company that celebrates its quest to make computer chips ever smaller, faster and cheaper.

But as it tries to expand beyond the PC chip business, its long unheralded software developers find themselves at the center of Intel's forays into areas like mobile phones and video games.

The most attention-grabbing element of Intel's software push is a version of the open-source Linux operating system called Moblin. It represents a direct assault on the Windows franchise of Microsoft, Intel's longtime partner.

The Moblin software resembles Windows or Apple's Mac OS X to a degree, handling the basic functions of running a computer, but it has a few twists Intel says make it better for small mobile devices.

For example, Moblin fires up and reaches the Internet in about seven seconds, then displays a novel type of startup screen.

People will find their appointments listed on one side of the screen, along with their favorite programs. But the bulk of the screen is taken up by cartoonish icons that show things like social-networking updates from friends, photos and recently used documents.

With animated icons and other quirky bits and pieces, Moblin looks fresh. Some companies hope it will give Microsoft a strong challenge in the market for the small, cheap laptops commonly known as netbooks. A polished second version of the software should start appearing on a variety of netbooks this summer.

"We really view this as an opportunity and a game-changer," said Ronald Hovsepian, the CEO of Novell, which plans to offer a customized version on Moblin to computer makers.

While Moblin fits netbooks well today, it was built with smartphones in mind. Those smartphones explain why Intel was willing to needle Microsoft.

Intel tried and failed to carve out a prominent stake in the market for chips used in smaller computing devices like phones. But the company says one of its newer chips, called Atom, will solve this riddle.

The low-power, low-cost Atom chip sits inside most of the netbooks sold today, and smartphones using the chip could start arriving in the next couple of years.

To make Atom a success, Intel needs Moblin because most of the cellphone software available today runs on chips whose architecture is different from Atom's. To make Atom a worthwhile choice for phone makers, there must be a supply of good software for it.

"The smartphone is certainly the end goal," said Doug Fisher, an Intel vice president.

Intel tries to play down its competition with Microsoft. Because Moblin is open source, anyone can pick it up and use it. Still Intel's relationship with Microsoft has turned more prickly.

Microsoft says Intel will face serious hurdles as it tries to stake a claim in the operating-system market.