According to Conscius Capital analyst Kona Shio, Research in Motion and Intel will unveil a major R&D deal tomorrow focused on Wi-Max. RIM will use Intel's Wi-Max chips in Blackberries while Intel will use RIM technology in its Wi-Max chipsets. The growing involvement of RIM within the Wi-Max ecosystem is a significant development and should give Intel more clout as it works to get additional technology partners on board. The relationship between RIM and Intel goes back to Intel Capital's investment in RIM many years ago and RIM's use of Intel's 386 chips.
Shio offers some more thoughts today on the RIM-Intel deal:
"We believe Intel will make a major push for WiMax similar to the push it made for WiFi - single handedly popularizing the technology via its Centrino chips. We believe RIM will greatly benefit from including Intel’s WiMax standard in its Blackberry the same way as laptop manufacturers have benefited from including the Centrino chip as Intel’s WiMax could rapidly become the standard in consumers/end-users mindset."