Intel and Tencent Partner on Research Center, Mobile Computing

Intel announced today that it will be partnering with Chinese company Tencent in strategic relationship that will focus on tablets and the consumer experience.

The chip-maker’s Senior Vice President Renee James explained at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing that the company is moving further into the personal computing space with a focus on “delivering compelling user experiences across a range of personal computing devices.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Intel’s partnership with Tencent aims to create new innovations through mutual cooperation:

Around 60 engineers from Intel and Tencent will also work together in the China research center on other products and services such as for tablets and gaming. The companies expect to eventually increase the number of engineers to 200, and to expand their areas of research to technology related to online services that can integrate multiple devices including handsets, personal computers, televisions and vehicles.

For Intel, the new focus on tablets is an interesting one. The chipmaker announced yesterday at the Developer Forum in Beijing that it would be rolling out a new Atom Z670 processor to compete with ARM whose design is currently well ahead of Intel in the tablet and mobile space.

Plenty of partners, not just Intel

The partnership is giving us flashbacks to 2010 when Tencent announced a similar “joint partnership” with Novell to establish a cloud computing research laboratory in Shenzhen.

In the last couple of months, we’ve seen Tencent aggressively expanding its business portfolio. In January, it started a $760 million investment fund to invest in technology start-ups focusing on gaming and e-commerce. It also plans to launch its HiQQ android powered smartphone which will be pre-installed with its QQ services. Tencent, together with Sina, also partnered with Nokia to provide a location-based service powered by Finland’s popular Ovi Map in China. In February, it partnered with Groupon to form Gaopeng.com in China, although the pair did have some conflict along the way.

And just this month, we’ve heard news that the company is building a new data center near Tianjin, and they’ve already inked a deal with ASUS to produce a QQ EeePad.