Analysts are expecting Intel and Research in Motion (RIMM), manufacturer of the Blackberry) to announce a new partnership at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco. As part of the deal, RIMM will begin to use Intel’s low-power communication chips and will help Intel promote its WiMax long-distance protocol.

The WiMax wireless protocols allow for long-range data connections of up to 31 miles. WiMax has been designed to co-exist and work with standard WiFi, which has a general range of several hundred feet.