Intel chief Paul Otellini has made some intriguing comments about some new chips they’re working on for smartphones that will be competing with the iPhone. The CEO was quoted as saying:

Virtually every computer and handset manufacturer is struggling to figure out how they’re going to compete with Apple’s iPhone. If we get the power and performance [of the Intel chip] right, it’s going to be a killer combination.”

Intel makes chips for, well, everything, so on the face of it, this isn’t terribly surprising, but speculation has been that Intel will be Apple’s supplier for the iPhone itself. We wouldn’t rule out just yet that Intel is still actually the chip supplier for the iPhone. Otellini has been good at deception in the past, likening the Apple-switching-to-Intel rumors to a comet that passes nearby every year, making everyone believe it was still little but half-truths and gorilla dust. Could he perhaps just be playing coy again?

Assuming Intel is not the iPhone supplier, where does that leave us? The other rumored chip maker is Renesas, a Japanese company that was established as a joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi. Given Apple’s cozy relationship with Intel these days, it’s hard to make odds on which company is more likely to get the nod from Apple, but we’ll likely know soon enough.

Filed under: iPhone News