Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, and Nokia, the world's largest cell phone maker, have banded together to engineer a new class of x86 mobile device - widgets beyond smartphones, notebooks and netbooks - that apparently shrinks the power of a desktop into something that fits in your pocket.

Details are scarce. The pair won't discuss either specific products or timing only that the widgets be Linux-based with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.

The announcement was made by Anand Chandrasekher, the head of Intel's Atom chip unit, but it's unclear if Atom, a derivative or a brand new mobile chip is involved in the project.

Apparently the companies mean to out-Apple Apple, which Intel has apparently lost as a mobile phone or newfangled device customer either to ARM or to Apple's own internal chip development centered on its PA Semi acquisition last year.

Microsoft and Google Android system are also losers. Intel and Nokia mean to throw their collective weight behind the Moblin and Maemo variants of the Linux operating system.

Moblin was built by Intel for Atom MIDs, netbooks, nettops, in- vehicle infotainment and embedded systems. It was recently passed on to the Linux Foundation. Maemo was developed by Nokia and runs its N810 Internet Tablet.

During a press conference this morning that added nothing to press release, Kai Öistämö, executive vice-president of devices at Nokia, called Linux key to the "brave new world of convergence."

The new allies says they will coordinate their open source development investments and "align" on a range of open source mobile technologies such as oFono, ConnMan, Mozilla, X.Org, BlueZ, D-BUS, Tracker, GStreamer and PulseAudio.

Intel has also licensed Nokia's HSPA/3G modem technologies and means to put that on its chipset so the widgetry is always connected.

Nokia said the new relationship with Intel does not mean that it is abandoning its ARM relationships.

Intel has been struggling for years to expand beyond conventional computing and get into phones but its chips run too hot.

Aside from making a hit with netbooks, it's only other publicly acknowledged phone partner this time around is LG Electronics, the world's third-largest cell phone maker. What LG is building hasn't been disclosed but it's reported a MID.