Mobile Internet Devices Make a Splash at CES 2008

03:00 | Catherine Girardeau | Jan 15th, 2008 9:00am |

Intel continues to develop smaller and smaller microprocessors, and to fit them into elegant platforms to run just about any kind of computer, from sophisticated server arrays to a brand-new class of ultra-portable devices, known as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). MIDs created some genuine buzz at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. Intel’s MID bar at the show was packed with consumers eager to get their hands on these ultra-portable devices, which Intel said combine performance, battery life and wireless connectivity to deliver the “full Internet in your pocket”. Adding everything you can do on your laptop or desktop to lifestyle features, like cameras, messaging, music and video-sharing, the seven brand-new MIDs at the Intel show will be manufactured by various Intel partners and are slated to hit the market by mid-2008. Intel MIDs are powered by the latest in Intel technology in a platform codenamed Menlow, based on a 45-nanometer microprocessor known as Silverthorn and a chipset codenamed Poulsbo. The Menlow platform will deliver state-of-the-art performance to an impressive variety of ultra-small devices, from iPhone-like touchscreen models from Aigo and Clarion, to devices resembling PDAs with slide-out keyboards, to some combination of the two, such as the Samsung, Toshiba, ...