Photos: Aava: Putting Intel inside a smartphone a little larger than an iPhone

After 2 days of meeting with tens of companies, probably over 100 by this point, I’ve finally found something that I’d personally call interesting. Funny thing is the company that made this device is from Finland, the country I’ve been living in for the past 2.5 years. I’ve never heard of them, but I’m certain the entire world will know about them by the end of this year.

Image via C|Net (April 2008)

Aava, Finnish for open, is a company less than a year old based out of the city of Oulu, employees roughly 40 employees, some of them are former Flextronics engineers, that built a reference design that utilizes Intel’s Moorestown platform. You get a 45 nanometer Lincroft CPU, “no comment” on the clock speed, a Langwell southbridge, an ST-Ericsson modem that can handle up to 7.2 Mbps HSPA, WiFi, GPS, and all the sensors you could want. People like you and me, consumers, will not buy devices from Aava, hardware manufacturers will make devices utilizing the Aava platform, and they’ll be shipping by the end of this year. Whose already signed up to build devices using Aava’s technology? “No comment.”

50 cent EUR coin has a diameter of 24.25 mm

Codename Virta, Finnish for stream, was the device that Aava was showing in conjunction with Intel. When I asked Intel whether or not it would be technically feasible to run Microsoft Windows, Pankaj Kedia, Director of Global Ecosystem Programs, said that they’re not going to talk about that right now. He said that this meeting was about the reference design Aava created.

The BIOS screen every PC user knows all too well; LG GW990

I already know the answer to that question, It’s yes, but I was curious to hear what Intel had to say since they’re now no longer being burdened by relying on Microsoft to help them sell chips. Intel would like a chip inside everything, including smartphones, and I can realistically say that Aava, with Virta, has made a huge leap forward today bringing that vision to reality.

Virta officially supports Moblin 2.1 (technically MeeGo now), Android 2.1, and Qt, but it’s x86 so it can realistically run Windows 98 too if you’re into torturing yourself for pleasure. It has a 864 x 480 pixel screen resolution, odd I know, and I double checked that, but customers will be able to use whatever screen they want.

Nexus One on top, Virta on bottom

When I asked about battery life, Pankaj would not give me a number, but said that it would be “competitive with what’s on the market today.” Intel has a lot to prove in that regard, and they know that.

Nexus One on top, Virta on bottom

Update: Oh and one more thing, the LG-GW990 was just casually sitting on the meeting room table. You can bet it’s probably built on Aava’s technology. Intel, nor Aava, would not confirm that fact, but why else would it be there? There’s also a photo of the Virta with the battery cover off right after the jump.