FRANKFURT/SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 30 US chipmaker Intel Corp unveiled a deal on Monday to buy German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG's wireless unit for $1.4 billion, as it claws its way into the booming smartphone market and cuts its reliance on personal computers.

The deal is the second major acquisition in two weeks by Intel with an eye to a future where telephones, tablets, cars and household appliances are increasingly connected to each other through networks.

Infineon's mobile unit, called WLS, makes and supplies mobile chips to companies such as Nokia Corp, LG Corp and Apple Inc and its purchase gives Intel technology in an area where it has struggled.

On August 19, Intel said it would pay $7.7 billion to buy security software maker McAfee Inc its largest acquisition ever, seen as key to making desktop and mobile devices safer from hackers.

“Both transactions are carefully and strategically aimed at improving our capabilities in the traditional PC segments and in the emerging smart-market segments that Intel has identified as important growth areas,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini told analysts during a conference call.

Intel has long dominated the market for PC market processors. Its Atom mobile chips took the low-cost, no-frills netbook market by storm, but they are rarely chosen by manufacturers to be included in smartphones.—Reuters