Intel's Linux-Powered Mobile Internet Device

An anonymous reader writes "Intel is set to launch an ultra-mobile PC dubbed Mobile Internet Device or MID which will run on Linux. The PDA-sized devices will target 'consumers and prosumers' instead of mobile professionals. From the story: 'MID tablets will run a simplified finger-friendly user interface optimized for the small screens, based on the Gnome desktop but with an Intel-developed master user interface layer to serve as an equivalent to the desktop. Developers will next month see the first MID-specific OS -- a tweak of China's RedFlag Linux known as RedFlag MIDINUX -- while the IDF schedule itself includes a stream of ultra mobile sessions including one on Designing for Linux-based mobile Internet devices.'"

Comments

VoIP Phone

[Doc Ruby]

If it doesn't have the horsepower, bandwidth, battery life and mic/speaker (Bluetooth) to function as a VoIP terminal, then no one will want to learn any new skills to use it, or carry around something that smartphones already beat. But if it does, then the entry of Intel into both the PDA and Linux markets, even just as a reference platform, will be very welcome. Even if it just gives Intel the feedback it needs to better tailor components for other vendors into those markets.

Re:VoIP Phone

[hey!]

It all depends on price.

A product's potential to become revolutionary, evolutionary or extinct cannot be separated from its price.

The Newton, while arguably too big, was certainly too expensive to take the world by storm. The Palm was much less ambitious but priced right. Two way pagers were popular for a long time because their cheapness relative to mobile phones created an application niche for them. Now that the scale of mobile phone adoption has tilted the table in that direction, people are more likely to go with SMS.

If this device were cheaper than a mobile phone to buy, and the service was cheaper, then there is no question it would have legs, despite any limitations it might have. If it's more expensive either way, then people will hook PDAs or laptops up to their phones via BlueTooth. They may fail because their service is crap or because BlueTooth is so squirrely for ordinary people to deal with, but they aren't going to pay more for something they could theoretically have for less.

This suggests a device like this needs to have two things to succeed: It must be priced less than any other way of getting the same thing accomplished and it must be at least barely usable for its intended audience. Greater usability at a higher price is not a recipe for success, nor is unusability at a lower price (although it may spoil adoption of a higher priced gizmos).

Interesting

[Aladrin]

I wonder how locked-down the device will be? Since it's using Linux, I hope they'd be smart enough to only lock it down enough that the non-tech consumers don't hurt themselves. I'd love to have a version of Ubuntu on it, instead of the Midinux that they've developed.

Truly, though, as long as I can write my own programs for it, I'd run whatever linux variant that I had to.

A 6" screen and dual-core 800Mhz? Very nice.

The bad part? "next year's release of the products." NOW. WANT NOW.

Re:Interesting

[chrism238]

Ubuntu for you - why? Wy would you prefer a Linux distribution currently targetted for desktop and laptop machines over one specifically targetted for the small form-factor and low-power consumption marketplace? Some biases, or comfort zones, need to be overcome when changing technologies.

Re:Late April Fool's?

[dreamchaser]

I don't see much R&D going into it, just engineering improvements (i.e. smaller stuff) of existing technology. Most of the real work will be creating a good UI.

Re:Poor old modding community

[Maljin Jolt]

What about those psycho people who spend all their lives getting Linux installed on their XBox/router/phone/wrist-watch? It's bit dull if it already runs Linux.

Don't wary for us. Instead of that funny intel chinese redflag midinux I will surely install hardened gentoo on it.

Re:Nokia 770 anyone?

[ceeam]

$199 would definitely be nice but MP3 players are more expensive than that. And this thing is so much more than an MP3 player. I doubt anything below $350-400. But yes, I agree - full-blown but inexpensive PDAs are way overdue (and these things are basically PDAs, of course).

Re:It needs all this stuff to succeed

[Doc Ruby]

It's true: having a USB master in a small, mobile device running Linux is valuable. Even Treos are themselves USB slaves, so they can't use USB peripherals. I looked for years for a USB hub with a master controller, which never arrived. If I want my Pilot to use a cheap USB webcam, I'm SOL. But one of these could do the trick. If only it would cost $100 - maybe in 5 years this original model will.