Intel Bringing Android Gingerbread to Atom in January 2012

Intel’s Atom processor has been around since the halcyon days of netbooks, but Intel isn’t done with the chip yet. Based on video promoting the latest iteration of the chip, the Atom E6xx, Intel is optimizing Android 2.3 Gingerbread for it and making the package available in January 2012.

While this isn’t the first time Atom and Android have met—most notably in Google TV, but also on poorly executed tablets like the ViewSonic ViewPad 10—the OS has never been officially optimized for the processor. According to the video, the Atom and Andy combination will not necessarily manifest itself in a tablet or smartphone. Instead, it’ll be used for applications such as fitness equipment, in-vehicle information systems, digital signs, or retail outlets.

According to Carrypad, while the Atom E series isn’t specifically for direct consumer consumption, this development theoretically opens up the door for an optimized version of Gingerbread on the Menlow, Oaktrail, Moorestown, and Cedar Trail platforms of the processor. Check out the video and let us know what you think. Would you use Gingerbread on an Atom machine?

via Carrypad