HELSINKI, FINLAND: Intel Corp's former chief executive and chairman, Craig Barrett, said on Thursday it would take "a few years" to see whether Intel's technology partnership with Nokia succeeds.

Last week Intel announced a technology partnership with Nokia that could potentially give the chip maker the breakthrough it has been looking for into the mobile market.

The companies said they would work together on a new class of mobile computing devices, but would not say when they would come to market or give details on the kind of wireless products they hoped to develop together.

"We will have to wait a few years to see if the deal is successful," Barrett told a news conference in Helsinki.

Barrett served as Intel CEO between 1998 and 2005 and was the firm's chairman until May 2009.