In a deal announced on Monday, Intel will acquire German mobile chip manufacturer Infineon -- who makes the baseband chip used in the iPhone -- in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Prior to making the move, Intel’s chief claims that he solicited Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ opinion, who is said to be “happy” with the deal.
AppleInsider is reporting on Intel CEO Paul Otellini’s comments on Monday regarding his company’s acquisition of the wireless division of Infineon for $1.4 billion. Speaking with Fox Business, Otellini was asked how Apple feels about Intel stepping into the mobile chip game, since Infineon has supplied chipsets for Cupertino’s devices since the debut of the original iPhone in 2007.
"Steve was very happy,” Otellini remarked. “The industry was abuzz that this business unit was on the market, and there were a number of competing companies for it. I think they're very happy that Intel won the bid."
While the iPhone is big business, Otellini said that having a presence on the device was not the “overwhelming factor” in making the deal. Infineon is a good revenue stream, and Intel believes that the company’s wireless technology will only strengthen their own offerings.
AppleInsider is quick to note that Intel has not always been so kind to Apple’s mobile strategy in the past, having criticized Cupertino for relying on the ARM processor to power their devices. In 2008, Intel also publicly attacked the iPhone, claiming that the device is not capable of accessing the “full Internet” -- but that it could, if it had an Intel-based architecture.
The iPhone won’t be the only Apple product that Intel will gain access to as part of the Infineon deal -- the 3G-equipped iPad also uses a similar baseband to the iPhone, also supplied by Infineon.
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(Video courtesy of AppleInsider)
