With Lava’s XOLO X900 Intel is entering uncharted territory. It’s the chip maker’s first major push into mobile phones. Intel revealed its new mobile strategy and upcoming hardware a few months back at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. Since then Lava’s XOLO X900 has not changed. It’s still destined for just India. It’s still a mid-tier Android 2.3 phone (ICS is coming) with a 4.03-inch, HSPA+ 3G phone. But Intel’s inside and that’s a big deal.

Inside the average looking X900 is Intel’s Atom Z2460 processor. This is the first of several upcoming phones that forgo the tradition ARM-based CPU for Intel’s Atom X2460. Intel designed this Atom SoC with Android specifically in mind. The chip runs at a competitive 1.6GHz and features Intel’s hyper-threading, 400MHz graphics core with support for OpenGL, ES2.0 and OpenVG. The silcon also had a dedicated imaging core that supports throughput of up to 240 megapixels per second and a 10-picture burst mode — a key selling point of the XOLO X900.

This is just a test for Intel, though. The company is launching this device in only India. A similar but slightly more powerful handset will hit China later this year. Intel is using these fast-moving markets as a test bed of sorts. If found to be successful, Intel will no doubt look to other OEMs for the slower moving, but more lucrative markets of Europe and the US. Until then, Indian buyers will have Intel smartphones all to themselves.

Lava’s XOLO X900 will hit Indian retailers on April 23 for approximately 22,000 rupees, or about $420. Seeing how the iPhone 4S goes for twice as much in India, the XOLO X900’s price should be enticing enough to convince at least some buyers to test Intel’s first generation device.