Whether you think it's a post-PC or a PC-plus era, Intel's motivation for scaling down its processors for use in smaller devices is clear. The past few years have seen the mobile and tablet market grow and grow, and Intel has been very slow to react. Finally, after countless failures, Intel proved that it could power a smartphone earlier this year with the release of the Orange San Diego. The phone was one of the world’s first to feature an Intel x86 chip, a cousin to the silicon that sits inside your laptop or desktop PC. It put to rest longstanding worries about performance and battery life on the x86 platform, but was thoroughly dull and, despite largely passing our extensive app-compatibility test, was unable to run quite a few high-profile games. Our review of the San Diego found Intel capable, but still in need of a truly competitive smartphone.

Last month, at a relatively low-key press event in London, Motorola and Intel co-announced the RAZR i, an x86 version of the mid-range Motorola Razr M, the first of numerous collaborations between the two companies. The RAZR i represents a unique opportunity: we finally have two virtually identical devices, one powered by a "traditional" ARM processor, and the other featuring an Intel chip. Can Intel’s effort hold its own, and has the company found its perfect partner in Motorola?