Sure, Intel's been raking it in with the Atom that is powering so many netbooks being sold in these economically challenged times, but now the chip company is hoping to take a cut of an even more mobile market-- that of MIDs, or mobile Internet devices.Intel is adapting its Atom processor to vie with that of the ARM classification, which are popularly included in iPhones and other mobile devices. Intel will begin pumping out a new, lower-powered version of the processor, branded Moorestown, in 2009 or 2010, designed especially for MIDs. Along with making the Atom more mobile-worthy, Intel is developing an open source OS, dubbed Moblin 2, to be included on its MIDs.
These upcoming MIDs are not exactly smartphones-- they'll lack certain phone-centric capabilities while incorporating more that give it the feel of a desktop system, making a sort of cross-breed between smartphone and netbook-- but are expected to take a cut out of Apple's iPhone market, not to mention Microsoft's dwindling Windows Mobile fleet. The said MIDs could be used "to play high-definition video, make Internet-powered phone calls, or download directions and local business listings on the go," though I imagine it will hold plenty of more capabilities in store so as to truly compete with Apple and Microsoft.
Microsoft casts a leery, and possibly somewhat jealous, eye at Intel's attempts to enter the mobile market. "I'm not sure there's a third category of device" in between the cell phone and the netbook, said Andy Lees, a senior vice-president in Microsoft's mobile communications area. "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."
Whether Intel is successful and creates a new hybrid market between smartphone and netbook is to be decided by consumers.
"With the release of hundreds of pages of court documents in the legal dispute between Google and Viacom over the presence of copyright material on YouTube, Google has released a statement on the case. The statement was attributed to Zahavah Levine, YouTube chief counsel."
Two days ago, Technologizer revealed a new Marevell android tablet. Today, Marvell published a press release with more details on specs and price; apparently the Moby tablet wil cost USD 99 and is targeting education. Here is
ARMdevices' take on this new Armada 600 powered tablet.
"We're announcing an update to Windows XP Mode today that will make it a more accessible to PCs in small and midsize businesses who want to migrate to Windows 7 Professional but have applications that still require Windows XP. Windows XP Mode will no longer require hardware virtualization technology to run. This change makes it extremely easy for businesses to use Windows XP Mode to address any application incompatibility roadblocks they might have in migrating to Windows 7."
"Being the developer of a Qt-based mobile solution is really really nice nowadays â" especially as Android support is well on its way. For all those of you new to the topic: the moment Qt has been ported, you can run your Qt-based applications on the operating system. Bogdan Vatra [is] the brain behind the Qt port - let's see what he has to say!"
"Google is working to bring Web software to televisions through a partnership with Intel, Sony and Logitech, according to two people involved in the discussions with the companies. The project, called Google TV, uses Intel chips, with Switzerland's Logitech developing a keyboard that operates as a remote control, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the matter isn't public."
"Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have released research detailing how molecules in chips can self-assemble, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. The researchers have developed a technique in which polymers automatically fall into place to create an integrated circuit." Uhm people, have we learned nothing?
"In this article, the authors investigate the impact of DRM restrictions on the demand for music downloads. [A new model] estimates the impact of DRM on consumers' willingness to pay for songs (both favorites and nonfavorites) and on the producer revenues and profits. Based on two studies of more 2000 college students, the results suggest that despite the potential advantages offered by some DRM restrictions, on balance the elimination of DRM has a net positive impact on producer revenue, profit, and consumer welfare."
"By encouraging more people to post videos in Wikipedia articles, we can bring theora video played in html5 to a very large audience. Currently, there are very few wikipedia articles that have videos. We hope that this campaign will bring thousands more to the site and show people how great theora can be. HTML 5 video, which plays without Flash, is a wonderful step towards a more open web - but if it depends on proprietary codecs like h.264, we will still be stuck with a gatekeeper for online video.""Google is changing the way it handles the unique identifier that accompanies each installation of its Chrome browser. As noticed by H-Online, a Google white paper says the company will now delete the unique ID after the browser updates itself for the first time. Google has confirmed with The Reg that the change will be made with the upcoming Chrome 4.1."
Today's mobile space is owned by the likes of Nokia, RIM, Apple, and Google. While some of these corporations have embraced some open source components, a full FLOSS solution has yet to gain traction. Why? Blogger Bradley M. Kuhn posts thoughtful analysis of the current state of Open Source in the mobile space.