Business Week summarises the current position on Intel-based MIDs nicely and talks about Moblin 2.0 (due to appear in devices later this year,) a new partner announcement that will come at the Mobile World Congress and covers the ever-present discussion about the space between a smartphone and a laptop.
“I’m not sure there’s a third category of device” between a cell phone and a netbook, says Andy Lees, a senior vice-president in Microsoft’s mobile communications business. “The thing that distinguishes a phone is it goes in your pocket or purse. If you have a six-inch screen, that’s no-man’s land.”
I had this question put to me many times last week and i’m quite clear about the answer now.
1) Intel will push Atom-based MID devices so small that they will be smartphones (i.e. will be voice-capable and will be 24/7 pocketable.) You won’t know them as MIDs at this point. (Estimated 2010-2011 timeframe.)
2) People are forgetting about the third, forth, fifth etc. devices we already carry around. PMP’s, Navigation units and Video/photographic cameras are present in many peoples gadget bag and there’s a few upcoming categories too. Ebook readers, full experience web devices and even handheld gaming devices.
No one is saying that MID’s, either from Intel, from ARM or from anyone else are going to take one form and be ‘the winner’ because at the start, it’s going to be about creating devices for specific users and solving specific problems like internet-connected navigation, video streaming, full internet experience and portable HD media playback. Some consolidation of devices will be possible though and when you look at the screen requirements for all these ‘in between’ products, they all fit with the 4-6″ screen range. If someone does it right, there could well be a hit do-it-all device among them (Ipod Plus is one) but even if there isn’t, there’s sill a chance for many successful products in this multi-million unit pre existing market that Andy Lees is calling ‘no mans land.’
Intel Readies Push into Mobile Internet Devices – BusinessWeek.
in other words, what your saying is that intel will turn the mid into a smartphone?
maybe, if they can sort out that standby time…
I guess this is inevitable and that many of us have expected it to be happening slowly but surely.
I do still believer myself though that so called cloud services etc will grow and most likely remove the need for the very powerful device, only a good UI, great display, good battery time and foremost a good speedy connection. Once you have that the rest can be in the “cloud” and your smart phone might just have become your MID, or vice versa? :)
Just look at the Nokia internet tablets, all it lacks is a decent 4G WWAN and a UI to be used as a phone and VOILA :)
They will keep the existing platform too for the time being and run it alongside Moorestown.
well that’s not complicated – it’s called a “wake up function”. Should be implemented like this:
– send the netbook into standby/sleep mode with a special phone circuit active, that uses low energy (like smartphones already do). an incoming call will wake up the sleeping netbook (same as known for longtime with dialup modems). netbooks like asus 901/1000 series should this way have standby times up to 2 days right out of the box. with a little help from engineers this should be extensible to up to 3-4 days.
Just watch Superwhy, the Kids cartoon, the whole show uses a umpc, called super duper computer which is a slider, and a phone with probably a 5 inch screen. Also Animalia, the girl in the cartoon updates her blog on a smartphone. The kids will get it. Its computing and communication that fits in your pocket.
Whatever they call it, it has to have a screen big enough to be usable.
-Sent via Oqo 02
So far all MIDS and UMPC’s have not found the sweet spot. What I wish they would make is just a plain clamshell touch type computer I can carry in my pocket. That would be what I think millions would buy, at least all of the sales and marketing representatives whom hate to carry a notebook around. Thumb keys do not do.
The UMID M1 might be a good start for testing that theory. It probably has a few shortcomings but you have to start somewhere…