London - Intel made a giant leap into the smartphone market by announcing that LG's new smartphone GW990, which boasts of a whopping 4.8-inch display, will be powered by its new energy-efficient Moorestown processor and run on its new Linux-based Moblin mobile OS.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini showed off LG GW990 smartphone, which was powered by 'Moorestown,' Intel's next-generation platform for handhelds and smartphones. And, in case, you're wondering what Moorestown is, well, it's nothing but an energy-efficient, low power version of Intel's Atom processor, which is seated at the heart of most netbooks.

"Computing is no longer confined to your computer - it's everywhere," Otellini said. "Advances in connectivity, intuitive user interfaces, immersive content and computer chip performance have allowed computing to move into new areas. Computing moving into all manner of devices and experiences all around us improves our personal productivity and enjoyment."

While showcasing GW990, Otellini also said that the device is based on Intel Moblin 2.1 OS, which is based on Linux platform.

Thanks to these two factors, GW990 can multitask with ease, play 720p HD movie files without stuttering and boast of a S-Class user interface.

Of course, other beefy specs like 4.8-inch screen with 1024x480 pixel resolution display, 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash, WiFi, A-GPS, digital compass, HSDPA (7.2Mbps), HSUPA (5.6Mbps), onscreen keyboard, 16GB of internal storage, 512MB RAM and microSD card slot make GW900 tower above other smartphones but it'll be interesting to see it whether Intel's presence in the smartphone segment will be able to change the rules of the game.

Pricing and other details of GW990 is expected to be out later this year, probably shortly before the device officially launches. And, in case you're wondering about when this smartphone will hit UK shores, well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but the answer is it won't. At least not anytime soon. According to V3, a LG spokesperson has confirmed that the handset "will only be available in the US and unfortunately there are no plans to introduce it in the UK."

But don't fret. It's probably because an Intel-powered phone is new and LG wants to play it safe initially by testing the US waters before committing itself to other international markets.