Wired magazine takes a look at the forthcoming MID (Mobile Internet Devices) that will be hitting the markets this year.
Will the MIDs find an eager market? That's the $64,000 question.
The article points out that Intel is making great progress at creating PC-grade, mobile processors that scale down to pocketable devices. Intel is pinning great hopes on the Silverthorne family leading the way.
There is something very important that the article leaves out: The software. It's not just a matter of building a small device. That's only part of the problem. These are for the most part "sealed" units (from a hardware standpoint) and as such people are going to expect them to work as is--and work well. That means the software is going to have to be up to par.
You see, the big difference between let's say a MID and a Pocket PC is not just the hardware. It's the fact that a MID can run a full OS and full apps. However, it doesn't take much to realize that most apps are going to have to be tuned for these small devices.
From what I've seen (at CES, for instance), some MIDs will run a variant of Linux and some will run Windows. The question is which one will yield an experience on par of iPhone's OSX-lite?
A MID needs to be fast on, have easy access to apps, and boast apps out of the box that run well--really well (a browser tuned to reading on a small display, live maps, live weather, and so on).
Where's the initiative to create any of this? I don't see it. This means that the manufacturers are on their own which will mean spotty results and platforms that may be extensible, but will take work for third parties to take advantage of.
So I don't think the MIDs necessarily will be DOA from a hardware standpoint. It's going to be the software that makes a huge difference here. And once the software is "good enough" it's going to be a matter of whether the hardware and software blend together to make a device that really signs.
All this being said, if the prices are low enough consumers will be more acceptable of any flaws--at least the early adopters will. My prediction is that this is going to be an evolutionary product. We'll see.
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