Manufacturers have tried to go with Intel's first phone attempt, on the Moorestown platform. But it never happened. It's because it wasn't ready. The software ecosystem was significantly behind(Android 2.1 when others were at Android 3.0), it required 2 more large chips than regular phones(memory and chipset). Which also meant the battery life wasn't that good.
But then they partnered with Google to optimize on the platform, the OS support came much more up to date, and the platform integrated memory and chipset, saving significant power and space. They also made a reference design for others to work on.
And you got them to see design wins. The fact that they gained any traction before big trusted brands(Lenovo, Motorola, ZTE) showed theirs is an encouraging thing. That's without having a "halo" product which usually advertises itself too.
I don't think we'll see them up to 1/3rd share next year, but will be enough to make the really big guys like Samsung and Apple be interested in it. LTE opens up the possibility that they will start targeting the US market, and that's a big one.
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