With an aim to expand its presence in the computing world, technology giant Intel today announced that it has partnered with Google for accelerating its foray into the smartphone market by the first half of 2012.

It has also promised to bring power-efficient and affordable 'Ultrabooks', a sleeker and lighter version of laptops, to the market this holiday season.

Announcing a new partnership with Google for accelerating its smartphone business foray, Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini said he was hopeful of Intel's technology-based smartphones being launched in the market by the first half of 2012.

Delivering the opening keynote address at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) here, Otellini also announced that Intel's engineers were working on a new class of platform power management for the Ultrabooks that will help in producing "always-on-always-connected computing."

Predicting that Ultrabook systems will provide the most satisfying and complete computing experience, he said Intel was working with industry partners to deliver "mainstream-priced products beginning this holiday season for this new category of lighter, sleeker computing companions."

Industry experts believe that Ultrabooks are aimed at keeping the market for PCs, especially laptops, alive in the wake of soaring demand for tablets and other hand-held devices.

Terming Ultrabooks as Intel's vision for the future, Otellini said the company was working to make these devices lighter, thinner, sleeker and more secure, along with much longer battery life and affordable pricing. However, he did not disclose the price range for these devices.

He said that Intel engineers were working on a power management platform for these Ultrabooks that would reduce their idle platform power by more than 20 times over current designs without compromising computing performance.

Otellini further said he expects that this design change, combined with industry collaboration, will lead to more than 10 days of connected standby battery life by 2013 on a single charge.

"The advancements will aid in the delivery of always-on-always-connected computing, where Ultrabooks stay connected when in standby mode, keeping e-mail, social media and digital content up-to-date," Intel said.

The Intel chief predicted that platform power innovation will reach levels that are difficult to imagine today. Intel's researchers have created a chip that could allow a computer to power up on a solar cell the size of a postage stamp. MORE PTI BJ ARV