"Mobile users have an insatiable appetite for and want even more mobility, connectivity, and a full Internet on their small devices," said Intel executive David Perlmutter in a statement. Intel aims to "satisfy those needs" with its upcoming 45-nm processors and with WiMAX solutions, he added.

In addition to seeing many new opportunities for notebook PCs, Intel is imagining new kinds of devices that are larger and more versatile than a smartphone but smaller than a notebook. According to Intel, those technologies include Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) launching next year as well as a new generation of Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs).

Technologies for Mobile Devices

The 45-nm processors, such as the Penryn family launching later in 2007, will feature Intel's High-k metal gate (Hi-k) silicon technology. The technology is touted as increasing efficiency, and thereby helping to extend battery life.

In 2008, Penryn-based Montevina technology will be released for notebooks of all sizes, with integrated support for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Intel's popular Centrino Duo technology will be "refreshed" with dual-core Penryn processors, and Montevina will be the first notebook-targeted Centrino with the option for integrated Wi-Fi and WiMAX wireless technologies.

To target MIDs and UMPCs specifically, Intel is developing its Menlow platform, which, according to an Intel statement, will be Intel's "first platform designed from the ground up for MIDs and UMPCs." Menlow will use the 45-nm Silverthorne processor , also with Hi-k, and its chipset, Poulsbo.

According to Intel, Menlow will have ten times lower power needs than the first UMPCs already in the market, and the next-generation MID/UMPC platform, codenamed Moorestown, will increase battery life by another order of magnitude.

If personal mobile Internet devices are a big destination on the roadmap, Mobile WiMAX is an intersecting landmark. With megabit speeds, WiMAX could satisfy consumers' growing appetites for rich media anywhere. At IDF, Perlmutter showed Mobile WiMAX working from a golf cart, a scooter, and a Segway that roamed the audience.

Solutions in Search of Problems?

Amid all this dreaming of small new broadband devices, the question is whether anyone really wants or needs MIDs or UMPCs. Early UMPCs, such as those made by Samsung, have been met with something less than a rousing welcome among buyers.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said the question is whether MIDs and UMPCs are "solutions in search of problems." They're generally unable to fit into a normal pocket, he noted, yet they're not quite good enough to replace a laptop. "If you can't replace my laptop or my smartphone," he said, and I still need to carry those devices around, why would I want one?

Gartenberg added that broadband wireless connectivity will be available on laptops and smartphones, so the value of an MID or a UMPC remains unclear. "We just saw this kind of solution looking for a problem with Palm's Foleo," he said. That "smartphone companion" device was recently killed by Palm before it launched.