It was only two months ago that they were showcasing their android platform and practically begging for customers. [1]
I've wanted to do a phone for awhile. I'm sure I'm not the only one. In the last few months I contacted people at Intel but I had no response whatsoever to my multiple inquiries (to you know, become a customer). And I have some of the company's most senior management in my LinkedIn. Now I know why.
This is kind of pathological behavior on Intel's part imo. The big players were never going to come to their platform. Huawei, HTC, Samsung, LG etc have no reason to change from ARM. They are content to keep doing their cookie cutter thing while fighting a brutal price war in a staid market.
On the other hand, the startups out there, those of us who want to do something really out of the box and grow new markets can't get a word in edgewise. It's disappointing. As a technologist, I really hope someone manages to ship an open source handheld one day. That will be the catalyst for the next iteration of smartphone evolution.
[1] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/23/move_over_continuum_...)