May 10 2009
Mobile internet device
A Mobile Internet Device (MID) is a multimedia-capable handheld computer providing wireless Internet access. They are designed to provide entertainment, information and location-based services for personal use, rather than for corporate use. MIDs are larger than smartphones but smaller than the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). They have been described as filling a niche between smartphones and Tablet PCs.
Intel MID platforms
Intel announced a prototype MID at the Intel Developer Forum in Spring 2007 in Beijing. An MID development kit by Sophia Systems using Intel Centrino Atom was announced in April 2008.
Intel MID platforms are based on an Intel processor and chipset which consume less power than most of the x86 derivatives and are previously an extension of the Centrino mobile platform for Menlow platform (Silverthorne). A few platforms have been announced as listed below:
McCaslin platform (2007)
This platform contains an Intel A100/A110 processor (codenamed Stealey) 90 nm running at 600-800 MHz respectively.
Menlow platform (2008)
On 2 March 2008, Intel introduced the Intel Atom processor, formerly codenamed “Menlow”, a new family of low-power processors designed specifically for MIDs. The components have thin, small designs and work together to “enable the best mobile computing and Internet experience” on mobile and low-power devices.
This platform contains an Intel Atom processor (codenamed Silverthorne and Diamondville) 45 nm CMOS running up to 1.86 GHz. It uses Poulsbo Chipset (aka System Controller Hub) and includes Intel HD Audio, Azalia. (Azalia here doesn’t refer to the HD Audio codec.) Menlow platform which can be part of Centrino Atom was discontinued in Q3 2008.
Moorestown platform (2009)
This platform contains an Intel Atom processor (codenamed Lincroft) 45 nm
Operating system
Intel MIDs will run an embedded version of Linux with a finger friendly user interface modified by Intel. However, with the dual-core processor, the device is capable of running Windows XP and Windows Vista. Intel said it would demo the version of Linux, based on China’s Red Flag Linux known as Red Flag MIDINUX, in May.
Later, Intel announced collaboration with Ubuntu to create Ubuntu for mobile internet devices distribution, known as Ubuntu MID Edition. Ubuntu’s website says the new distribution “will provide a rich Internet experience for users of Intel’s 2008 Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform.”
