We'd already heard that ASUS had been invited to join the Open Handset Alliance, and DigiTimes is now reporting that the company is, in fact, planning to launch an Android-based handset -- go figure. That phone, some unnamed company sources say, will roll out sometime in the first half of 2009 (we're guessing late first half), and could possibly be released in Taiwan first under ASUS' own brand before making its way overseas in the form of different "customized models" for various clients. Of course, any other details are non-existent at this point, but those same sources did also note that ASUS will be phasing out its use of the Ericsson Mobile Platform (or EMP) in its phones in favor of handset platforms from Qualcomm and Marvell, which is interesting insofar as that both Qualcomm and Marvell are members of the OHA, while Ericsson is not.

The Symbian Foundation's founding member list was nothing to sneeze at, featuring the likes of Vodafone, Samsung, LG, AT&T, and of course Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola -- but the initiative is getting even stronger here with the addition of a couple other major carrier players, a chipset giant, and a heaping handful of software firms. From the carrier side, 3 and America Movil get added to the list; Marvell joins Texas Instruments from the silicon side of things, and the app developers now include Aplix, EB, EMCC Software, Sasken, and TietoEnator. We're not going to lie, we're not familiar with some of these devs -- but when you're fighting juggernauts like Android and LiMo to win the hearts and minds of the open-platform public, you need all the ammo you can get.

The rumors of Intel searching for a buyer were circulating, and it looks like they were true: Intel is selling off their mobile chip arm -- responsible for the quite successful XScale group of processors -- to Marvell Technology Group for $600 million. With chips making notable appearances in Treo, Blackberry and HTC devices, and pulling in a reported $250 million in revenue last year, we're still scratching our heads as to why exactly Intel would want to get rid of such a successful portion of their business. We'd think powering smartphones would be a priority for Intel right now, but the word is that Intel will have an option to receive $100 million of the purchase price in Marvell stock, so they might not be out of the game entirely. The chip unit currently employs 1,400 people, and Marvell plans to retain the "vast majority" of them, so this move shouldn't be too traumatic for most parties involved. We just hope they keep up with the R&D to get us smaller, faster, cooler and cheaper chips on the regular.