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This is going to be a big year for Intel in the mobile space - one way of the other - with devices running its mobile chips expected to appear and the mobile OS it's developing jointly with Nokia also due to take a commercial bow.
In the meantime there's already a big install-base of netbooks - which can also be considered mobile devices - and up to 40 million more are expected to sell this year. Quite wisely Intel is not about to neglect this market is single-handedly created with the launch of the Atom chip, and its AppUp center is designed to provide apps specifically for netbook owners.
So far, to be honest, the whole AppUp project has been pretty peripheral, with no obvious reason to bother visiting it. What it needed was a headline app to generate some buzz and bring legitimacy to the store.
What better, then, than the blockbuster mobile game hit of the year - Angry Birds. The game developed by Finnish outfit Rovio topped the iPhone store charts for much of last year and repeated the feat when released for Android. Rovio's ambitions clearly don't end there, and it has wasted little time in making the game available for PCs via Intel's app store.
"We're excited to offer Angry Birds through the Intel AppUp Center," said Rovio CES Mikael Hed. "Netbooks and consumer laptops are an untapped market for Angry Birds and a huge platform for casual gamers. Rovio looks forward to taking advantage of the innovative consolidated marketplace for PC apps Intel has provided."
This is another example of the further convergence of the mobile and PC markets we took a look at yesterday. While Intel will be keen to get more involved in the tablet and mobile phone markets, there's no reason why many of the apps available to iPhone or Android users can be acquired on a PC too.
Casual gaming is already huge on PCs - especially via cross-platform services like Facebook - so this is a logical extension of that. But we suspect the AppUp Center will require a lot more blockbuster games, and a lot more PR, before many mobile PC users regularly check it for apps and games, let alone buy any. Angry Birds is currently going for £3.49, but apparently that's a special promotion.
