A Nokia, Intel partnership makes sense, but they need to focus on smartphones

This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice. With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team’s only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless.

Intel deperately needs to get into the mobile phone market, which is expected to grow far more rapidly than the PC market over the next decade. Nokia, while still technically the leader in global smartphone market share, badly needs to generate some smartphone buzz to help fight off growing challenges from Apple, BlackBerry, Palm, and Google Android.

Nokia also knows something about failed MIDs. Earlier this year, the company discontinued its MID line of the devices, the Nokia N800/N810 Internet Tablet