After a successful run in the netbook market with its low-power Atom processor, Intel is embracing mobile internet devices (or MIDs) and has announced a partnership with LG Electronics to push a series of devices based on the upcoming Moorestown hardware platform alongside the Linux Moblin OS. In a joint statement released at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the companies said this cooperative effort "will deliver the best internet experience while dramatically reducing power."
Exact specifications of the upcoming devices are not yet public, as Moorestown is still not expected to make an appearance until 2010, however it has been said that this system-on-a-chip will use ten times less power than Atom or the company's current MID platform, Menlow.
Intel sees the category of product as something that is more powerful than a smartphone, like the Apple iPhone, but not as bulky as a netbook or laptop - users could use MIDs to watch HD video, make phone calls, or browse the web while on the go. Their success will largely depend on carriers offering compelling data plans for them and users actually seeing the benefit of spending a few hundred dollars or more on an additional device.