Intel has announced the setting up of a mobile computing design team in Bangalore, the first such team in Asia. The announcement was made at the Intel Developer Forum Spring 2003, which was held recently in Bangalore. The Bangalore design team will be the fifth Intel design team globally in the mobile computing space.

The team being established at the Intel India Development Centre will focus on the enhancement and development of Intel Centrino mobile technology. “Wireless mobile technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in technology and through this design team, India will be able to drive and influence the global wireless revolution,” said Dadi Perlmutter, Intel vice president and general manager of the Mobile Products Group.

Intel did not provide any details on specific investments to be made on the new design team, nor on the number of developers who would be part of the team. An Intel spokesperson only revealed that the team would initially have several dozen members, and the number would be ramped up as the team moved beyond the initial project definition stages. Responding to media queries, Perlmutter said that since products had a development lifecycle of a couple of years, it would take some time (at least a few years) before any product developed by the new team would be announced.

The announcement is a significant one because mobile computing is a huge focus area for Intel, which practices its mobile spiel itself—over 65 percent of Intel’s employees already use notebooks, and only scientists and designers working in Intel labs use workstations. Besides, most mobile development work is done in the US, and some work is done in Israel, and the setting up of the India design team is another vote of confidence from Intel’s global bosses in their Indian development operation.