Singer will.i.am brings hip factor to Intel

Singer will.i.am named Intel innovation director

Grammy-award winning singer will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas has been named Tuesday by Intel as its Director of Creative Innovation at a conference in Anaheim, California.

The musician, William James Adams, Jr. in real life, will help the company "develop the next generation of smartphones and tablets" through music and other media, Intel spokesman David Dickstein told CBS News.

"Nearly everything I do involves processors and computers, and when I see an Intel chip I think of all the creative minds involved that help to amplify my own creativity," the musician said in a statement.

Intel's move was made to imbue the company with some coolness and hip factor that appeals to young people as reflected in the company's chief marketing officer Deborah Conrad's remarks.

"It's imperative that Intel and our innovations are kept in front of the global youth culture that embraces new devices and new forms of communication and entertainment," said Conrad.

This is not the first collaboration by will.i.am with a technology company. In 2008, the singer worked with Research In Motion, creator of the Blackberry devices, to connect social networking and multimedia features in the company's products.

Intel said through a statement that the decision is in line with its "compute continuum" vision where most devices are connected through the Internet and its "visual life" project which seamlessly implements multimedia features in smart phones, tablets and other electronic gadgets.

Earlier, pop star Lady Gaga was also tapped by Polaroid as a creative director. She was reportedly involved in the creation of a camera-equipped sunglasses product.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Wednesday January 26 2011, 2:50 AM EDT. Ref: CBS News and Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0