Those Apple Tablet rumors just won’t go away. Yesterday AppleInsider revives talk of a larger iPhone multi-touch device:

“Intel has been in the running to assert its Atom processors at heart of a larger iPhone-like Multi-Touch internet tablet that’s also under development at the Cupertino-based electronics maker, and was at one time believed to have sealed the deal.”

Well, if this device is based on an Atom processor, then it’s obvious why we haven’t seen anything from Apple yet: The MID-focused Atom processor isn’t shipping. So far Intel is only shipping or soon to be shipping in quantity the Diamondville version of the Atom processor, which is targetted to inexpensive notebooks rather than mobile Internet devices. The other version of the Atom processor/chipset which we believe is more geared towards MIDs and the like isn’t shipping yet and even at Computex no one seems to be saying when the Atom-based MIDs will be available.

Intel’s Sean Maloney suggests that with MIDs “there’s much more experimental design,” which is I guess part of an excuse why MIDs are taking longer to hit the shelf–like any Apple MID itself. Interestingly, Maloney continues, “By the end of this year, you will have seen a whole bunch of new MIDs coming out and we’ll see which ones are hits.” So whereas MIDs were originally thought to be on slate for a June launch, it sounds like things are still not ready.

It could be because of the designs themselves or maybe it’s because of Intel’s lagging supply of the Atom processors used in these devices. It makes sense that if there are no chips and Apple is going to use these chips in a forthcoming Tablet-like device, that Apple can’t release anything yet either. Or maybe in deference to Apple as it continues to work out its design issues, maybe Intel is holding back until Apple is ready. That would be odd, but I guess it wouldn’t be impossible to imagine. If true, then that would make Steve Jobs’ recent comments on the next version of OS X (which presumably would be the big brother to an embedded version running in a touch Tablet) a misdirection in that he says, “We’re going to hit the pause button on new features” and work on parallelism and “foundational issues”. It doesn’t take much to imagine that an Apple Tablet is going to need new features tuned to it. So if the Apple Tablet uses an embedded version of the OS, and the OS is on pause for adding new features, then my guess is the Apple Tablet is on pause too in terms of software. Then again, maybe the embedded OS has branched off from Snow Leopard. That would be odd, especially if handwriting recognition improvements are involved in any way–and those are currently aging and in the existing OS. So if they’re fixed for an iPhone and Tablet, they’d be put in the main OS X too. This is all conjecture. Complete guessing. Who knows.

Anyway, if Apple is going to use the Atom family in a Tablet/PDC/iPhone+, then we’re talking at least about later this summer for a launch–if there is a launch. It’s making sense why we didn’t see anything at the WWDC. Then again, maybe we didn’t see anything at WWDC and we won’t see anything later this summer or year, because the Apple Tablet is still an R&D effort and nothing more. Ah, the rumors.

This InfoWorld article makes it sound like Intel is going to take a wait and see attitude when it comes to marketing MIDs. InfoWorld suggests that at Computex this past week there were several hit, low-cost PCs using Intel’s forthcoming Atom processors, but there wasn’t the same thing for Atom-natural MIDs.

Executive Vice President and General Manager of Intel Sales and Marketing Group Sean Maloney takes a wait and see attitude with respect to MIDs, “”By the end of this year, you will have seen a whole bunch of new MIDs coming out and we’ll see which ones are hits.”

Excuse me. There already is a hit MID. It’s called the iPhone. And in terms of early adopter power users the Nokia N95 isn’t far behind. If Intel or anyone else is looking for permission to do a good job with a MID, they have it. The market has spoken. Now get to work and make it happen.

Maloney’s cautious words, which I can appreciate, are making me cringe. I smell another UMPC-scale disaster. And I’ll be totally bumbed if this is what happens, because I really want a larger device than an iPhone for my Internet browsing, videos, home remote control, and the like.

Why do we need MIDs when we can get a smartphone that’s similar? Yes, the MIDs will have many of the same features (great connectivity, diminutive dimensions, cost), but some key differences: They will have larger displays. They will have better browsing experiences (complete with Flash). They will have more open platforms.

Now here’s where it’s going to be hard for MIDs–outside of the OEMs dragging their feet and saying “Show me first”:

First, MIDs will be secondary devices. Why is this an issue? Connectivity. WiFi is OK for starters, but many MIDs will need 3G radios or similar. And I’m like more and more people that have multiple radio-based devices and the carriers don’t see to have good offerings for users like us. Why should I be paying as much for a second or third or fourth device as my primary phone? I shouldn’t. Intel is going to have to work with the carriers to solve this or if they won’t do it, Intel is going to have to subsidize the market and prove to the carriers that they should be working with customers that have multiple connected devices differently.

I see another looming problem with MIDs, like the UMPCs before them? Price. Remember when the UMPC was going to be only $500? Didn’t happen. Instead prices reached three times that. There’s no doubt about it, price has been a big problem when it comes to the small UMPC. Huge problem. And if Intel doesn’t work with manufacturers, in terms of incentives, hardware and software engineering support, and marketing, MIDs are going to be a failure. There’s no doubt in my mind that the manufacturers will not commit themselves fully. Look at the UMPC.

So here are a couple more suggestions I have for Intel if they wanting win:

1) Watch the convergence of cameras and connectivity.

There has to be good a camera built into these devices. Most UMPCs failed miserably here. MIDs are large enough to have cameras and lenses that knock the socks off most cell phones.

Further, Work with QIK (etc) to get video out of the box in these devices. One advantage the MIDs will have over the Nokia N95 or other cellphones running Qik is the larger screen size which will come in handy for interacting with chat. Yes, this means that there has to be a 3G/WiMAX or comparable radio on board. For those that don’t have radios that go beyond WiFi there’s still hope here, but the message should still be the same: You can broadcast live, record video, upload video, and we’ll help make it easy for you.

Think a live broadcasting video feature is too esoteric? Think again. Look at who’s doing it. 1) Early adopters, like the ones you want to be standing in line to buy your device. 2) Key communicators. You want the likes of Michael Arrington of TechCrunch or Robert Scoble of FastCompany to use your product for their videos. Why? Because they communicate with a large number of early adopters. Just look on Twitter to see how much impact each 140 character sentence they say can have.

2) You better get your content ducks in order. Out of the box there ought to be three month coupons for Skype or a video download service or Rhapsody or all three. MIDs need to have bundles. I’m not talking about icons that clutter the screen. I’m talking about services that people really want. If users don’t want them, they’ll never get in the way. That’s key. But there better be blow away bundles. The bigger, the better.

3) The browser better be real and tuned for these devices.

4) The software experience is as critical as the hardware. In particular, what OS to use? Intel is in a pickle here in large part because Microsoft doesn’t appear to be onboard with this. It’s a crying shame. Maybe all of this is stating the fact that it’s not time for MIDs yet–except for companies like Apple and Nokia. For everyone else they need to wait a couple of years. Again, I hope not. I think someone at Intel needs to spend a bit more time with a few people outside of their normal group. I think they’re going to miss the obvious.

No matter what the OS, work with developers. Provide loaners. Help give exposure for MID apps. If there’s multi-touch, work with developers to come up with creative multi-touch games and apps. If there’s an accelerometer do the same there. Same goes for GPS. Whatever you do, don’t think you can slap together a bunch of hardware and some existing apps. It’s not going to work that way.

Finally, I disagree 100% with Maloney’s view that the issue is going to come down to fashion. He’s reading the iPhone tea leaves incorrectly. Sure the Apple crowd crows over the design sense of the iPhone, but that’s the Apple mistique. You’re not going to win this game. Just do a good job when it comes to design, but don’t focus in that direction.

Anyway, I look forward to see which MIDs reach the market. I hope I’m not going to be as disappointed as Maloney makes it sound.

Despite all the tweets from the community, no Mac Tablet was announced at Apple’s WWDC event today.

I’m a bit surprised that Apple didn’t surprise us with a Tablet or more likely a smaller MID-like device. Wouldn’t a grown up iPod Touch or iPhone make sense? Bigger screen. Similar connectivity. Doubles as a reading device with content accessible through iTunes. Remote control and viewing of Apple TV content.

Maybe the rumors will come true some day, but the longer it takes, the more time we’ll all have to remember that Microsoft and its partners are the lead innovators when it comes to Tablet and Tablet-like technology.

Compare the handwriting recognition. Apple’s InkWell is so much the lagging technology–whether it came from the Newton or not. And touch? You think Apple’s in the lead here? Not exactly. Look at how much further Microsoft is taking multi-touch in the UI with its TouchWall and Surface initiatives. And then there’s the form factor itself. Who’s taking more innovative technology to the market? Apple? I think not. And what about education? And the arts? Shouldn’t computers be offering people even more than what you can type on a notebook or cell phone.

It disappoints me. I think Apple would make some awesome “Tablet” products.

Right now I’m kind of down over the lack of a Tablet announcement, but I look forward to the fall and the next Apple conference. Just think of all the Tablet rumors between now and then!

What better place to hide something than in full view. So it was with great curiosity that I’ve been digging through some photos taken at Moscone–home of next week’s WWDC event.

I wondered: Might there be hints in the numerous banners going up as to whether Apple will be releasing an Apple MID or Tablet? Hmmm. Not that I can tell.

I even decided to dig into one photo behind the registration counter that purports to show a MacBook Air and an iPhone. But is that really an iPhone? Or might it be something else? A MID perhaps??

I decided to dig further. First, I corrected for the perspective in the image and then knowing the width of the Air to be 12.8″ I calculated out the width of the “iPhone” in the image.

Rats, it came out to 4.5″ x 2.4″ the exact dimensions of the currently shipping iPhone. Oh well, no secret clues here.

Forbes is spending too much time in the bushes trying to track down the latest scoup on what might actually be shown at WWDC next week.

After extensive reporting it appears that there are “mysterious” boxes making their way around the bay area. Hmmm.

Could these be some Tablet- or MID-like device? Who knows. I’ll take an iPhone MID thank you very much too. Where do I stand in line?

I guess we’ll find out Monday.

Nvidia is announcing their intension to grow their Tegra processor product line into the mobile “Tablet” market, which Intel is calling MIDs.

Nvidia is taking a slightly different approach to one watt level systems. They plan on dividing up tasks among different hardware accelerators, rather than using a single processor like the approach Intel is advocating with Atom.

Another twist is that Nvidia is designing their systems to work exclusively with Windows Mobile. Putting these three things together, does that mean we’re going to soon be seeing Windows Mobile MIDs sprouting about. I give that a pretty high probability. I don’t see XP lasting too much longer on small devices as more and more people see how Vista trumps it on their notebooks and desktops. They’ll want to move past XP and since Vista doesn’t scale down, this leaves a huge opening for Windows Mobile. Now if Apple were to license their iPhone embedded OS, then this would all change in a flash. Can you imagine that? Of course, there’s Google Android too, but until the dust settles a bit on it I don’t see anyone making big commitments behind it in non-phone devices, even if it does make sense.

As we approach WWDC, the Apple rumors and chatter is increasing. Just watch TechMeme for a day or so and you’ll see what I mean.

Yesterday there was talk of an Intel exec supposedly stating that Apple was going to come out with a larger iPhone device running an Atom processor. There was good reason to be skeptical. No one in the industry leaks information like this. Especially not in front of a crowd. There might have been something poorly stated, but I doubt it was meant to signal to the markets that there was a forthcoming product from Apple.

This won’t stop the Apple MID or mini-Tablet rumors though. I’ve heard them too–from “inside” industry people too. For a couple years now. Of course, in all this time, there’s not been a Tablet product, so my skepticism grows with each passing month.

Now what I imagine is happening is that Apple is working on various designs and ideas and some of these might be Tablet like. Whether they hit the market is another idea. That makes complete sense.

Apple is tremendously secretive, but my guess is that they’d give a public nod to what they are working on if the idea is going to be a big new direction for them.

So as of today we’re still in the same position we were in yesterday. Will there be a Tablet? A MID? An e-Book reader? Who knows. Stay tuned. The rumor mill has lots more to say.

Will Intel’s version of the MIDs follow the wacky pricing of UMPCs? Rumors are beginning to spread that this might just be the case. Oh, boy. Here we go again.

All I can say is, maybe this time Apple will provide some much needed competition and show the OEMs how this game is played.

What I’d like to see is a device with a display larger than the iPhone’s, great connectivity, a great browsing experience, good battery life, and a rich programmable platform. Put all of these together at a reasonable price and you have something I and many others would purchase. Price it in the $1000 range and you have a flop.

Intel needs to sit down with its engineers and think this through a bit more.

Update: Some are suggesting that the first-to-market MIDs will be in the $750 range. Still too high if you ask me.

The experience better be killer at this price. Otherwise, I’m going to be in line with everyone else buying, not a MID, but another Apple product.

OK, I changed my mind. This is my last and final post today about multi-touch today.

Are Apple users more enthusiastic about multi-touch?

After scanning through various blog posts on multi-touch, I’m begining to wonder if the Apple community is vocally more interested in the technology than lets say those from Microsoft. A quick check using Google’s Blog Search makes it look like this is so. This may be a byproduct of the fact that Apple was the first to demonstrate multi-touch in a mass-shipping product: The iPhone.

I think, however, that the Windows world is also keenly interested in multi-touch too–whether standing up at a multi-touch whiteboard/display, or sitting down at a Microsoft Surface computer, or potentially sharing and sifting through content on a slate Tablet PC.

So far, Google (because of TouchLib) and Apple (because of the iPhone SDK) are early leaders in multi-touch when it comes to giving developers multi-touch tools.

Is multi-touch more slate friendly?

Is it just a coincidence that Apple launched its multi-touch technology on essentially a slate–the iPhone–rather than one of its notebooks? I don’t think so. In fact, I think that multi-touch is more natural and more compelling on a slate-type device. (I’m defining a slate as anything here where there isn’t a predominant, keyboard built-in.)

What does this mean for Tablet PCs? It means that Tablets as they have evolved in the Microsoft sphere (as notebooks with handwriting and touch) are vulnerable to an attack by slates–if and only if slates prove to work well with multi-touch. Take multi-touch away and maybe the Tablet PC convertibles will be safe for awhile.

On the other hand, if multi-touch proves out to be as freeing as I think it might–especially for “slate” surfaces–it could mean a resurgence in slates. This might begin for small handhelds, such as MIDs, as well as large displays and then slowly encroach into the notebook space.

It also might mean that if Apple were to sell a slate (as many rumors have indicated) with multi-touch (supporting native rotating windows and the like, which are very multi-touch friendly), that they could ignite a firestorm of interest in “Tablets.” Nah.

What might a multi-touch slate mean for keyboards that are so important to us now? I’m not sure. Maybe we’ll see them working more side by side with convertibles. At this point I wouldn’t see multi-touch being the key, but rather the interconnectivity between the various computers.

I hope you’ll indulge me for a few minutes. I have something I need to take care of. It’s rather personal, so I hope you don’t mind.

I need to talk with my iPhone.

iPhone?

You’re beautiful. You’re a wonderful device and a pleasure to be with out on the town. And it’s not just me that admires you. You know the looks you get wherever we’re traveling around. And you’ve made a difference in my life too. I appreciate that. With you I’ve stayed more connected with family and friends. You’ve shown me how to enjoy TechMeme and Twitter and Thredr on the go. And with no other device have I enjoyed so much checking the weather, or stock prices, or using the stopwatch, or alarms. Plain and simple, you’ve been there when I needed you. (OK, minus a few dropped calls.)

However, no matter how much I enjoy our time together, I’ve come to realize that it’s not working out. It’s time for a change.

I know there’s not much I can say at this point, however, please understand it’s me not you. Simply, I need more.

I’ve come to realize I need a larger display. Your display is gorgeous and fine for infrequent web browsing, however, since I’ve known you I’ve come to realize how important browsing is to me and now I accept the fact that your display is not for me.

I also need a good camera. Life is too short and too fast not to capture photos of what I want. Just an example: You know I’ve had some issues keeping track of my various medications this past year. I know I could have typed them into your notepad, however, I really wanted to take pictures of the medicine bottles and labels so I’d have all the information with me all the time. However, your pictures are just too blurry. I can make out some of the details on the labels, but I know now I need more.

I also need video. Yes, I’ve seen an app online that looks promising, however, I don’t know if this will ever be something we can use together….you know, jailbreaking makes me uncomfortable. And even I were to get over the jailbreaking part, I see now that I need direct connectivity to the Internet so I can broadcast live. I want to experience Qik with my device.

I also know now that I need more of a browser. You’re cute and all and a blast to surf with. And I never realized how much I enjoy pinching just for the fun of it. However, I miss Flash. When we first got together you knew how important Flash was to me, however, for whatever reason I realize you couldn’t adjust. And, frankly, I’m tired of you cutting out all signs of Flash and just leaving tiny blue boxes. Truthfully? It just seems so petty to do this to Flash. I don’t understand why we couldn’t just get it to work out.

And then there’s Silverlight. As a developer I have to keep trying out new technologies and seeing what they can do. I need Silverlight. And I’m not going to accept more cut out blue boxes whenever Silverlight shows up. I’m not going to live that way.

And while I’m being completely honest, I need to be up front and tell you that I need a device which is more connected. WiFi is great at home, but on the go, you’re not the same. Sometimes when we’re searching the web at a store or in the car, you just sit there. I can’t tell if anything is happening. You show a little bit of blue in your address bar, but I can’t read you. I can’t tell if I’ve done something wrong or what. It drives me crazy. I need more.

Where am I going now? Well, despite the fact that I still think you’re the best “MID” out there, I’ve decided I need a MID. A real MID. For me, a MID is just the right size, with just enough connectivity and power to give me the browser experience I want, and to provide me with a camera I need. I realize I’m giving up something great for the hope of something better, but as an early adopter I have to.

And as a programmer, I need the freedom. I know theoretically I can add whatever features I need to you. However, you come with so many rules and restrictions, I always feel like I’m being held back and wearing a straightjacket. I don’t think you trust me. I don’t think you appreciate what I can do for you. I enjoy writing programs that make our lives better and help people. With you I feel like I’m being held back. MIDs are offering me the freedom I want.

I’m sorry about this, iPhone. I realize I committed to another year with you, but I think we need to reconsider this. I’m willing to share our settings for another year if you like, but it can’t be an exclusive. I need to move on. Well, take some time, recharge yourself, and let me know what you think.

I know I’m going to kick myself for letting the best thing go, however, I need to try something different. I’m not going to be happy staying here and it’s not fair to you if we stay together and we don’t get along.

It may be tough for awhile, but give it some time. I know it’ll be the best for the both of us.

Apple may not think that their iPhone is ready for video, but it looks like the cellular industry thinks the time is now to support scenarios such as this. In an USA Today article several cellphone providers are talking up how you might be able to watch TV on your cellphone. Sounds good to me.

All of this makes me wonder how MIDs and UMPCs might fit into this. Assuming they have they connectivity, will the video experience be up to par or will the setup assume very small displays?

I also think any video watching scenario needs to assume that people will be watching videos from services such as YouTube. Gone are the days of exclusively watching TV networks or shows from major movie studios.

This is going to be very interesting to watch.

James Kendrick ponders what the mobile PC marketplace will look like once Intel’s Atom processor hits the streets. I’m guessing it will enable many new platforms, primarily because of its size, lower power consumption, and cost. Where I have my concerns is on the performance side. James wonders the same thing. Will it be faster? Or fast enough? Or will performance take a hit.

I’m hoping that performance will not suffer, but I can fully see how from an engineering perspective we might see incremental improvements here rather than the performance we’d really like to see all at once.

I imagine we won’t know how it’ll all pan out until the Atom starts shipping and MIDs and the like start using them. Can’t wait. My credit card is already warming up to the idea of getting one…or two.

Update: UMPCPortal reprints some graphical details on the expected performance of the Atom processor. From this charts it looks quite promising. We’ll have to see how it all pans out in the real world.

Josh Bancroft blogs about his hands on impressions with the Lenovo and Aigo MIDs.

He has several excellent pictures, the most interesting is the one with all the devices stacked up with the iPhone on top. I think this is a metaphor for the whole segment.

The “MIDs” as Intel envisions it is going to need some killer features, such as effortless live video streaming and chatting. Of course, live streamings isn’t the only possible killer feaure. There can be others. Killer games. Killer GPS apps. Killing photos. And so on.

This is where the iPhone is lagging–at least at this point.

Microsoft is giving more breathing room to XP on low-cost PCs by extending the time that it will make XP Home able to OEMs for these devices through at least June 30, 2010. It refreshing to see this, although in my mind Microsoft is not going far enough to address the challenges at hand.

There’s no doubt that Microsoft has missed the boat when it comes to low-cost PCs, MIDs, and even its own UMPC. It’s in a catch up game. Microsoft is getting challenged on the low end by the hardware and cost frugality of Linux and on the coolness side by Apple’s iPhone. Lots of body punches. No knockouts, just draining body punch after body punch. As a tech enthusiast and long time user of Microsoft products it’s hard to watch. (But I know time will heal all wounds, as I sit here typing this on my Mac Pro after reading about the announcement on my iPhone. Heh.)

It’s not that Vista is terrible on these machines although in some cases it’s sluggish, it’s that these low-cost systems simply often don’t have the drive space to hold the larger Vista. But that’s only part of it. Solid state drives, for instance, will get bigger. The bigger issue is that Vista is biased towards the desktop and large displays. XP is for that matter too, but not as bad (no sidebar, for instance). Yes, Vista can be set up like XP, but it would need to be stripped down to really make a good comparison. I’m not sure if Microsoft would want to take the engineering and test time to strip Vista down though.

What I hope Microsoft really understands is that it’s not simply a matter of XP over Vista. The user experience matters too and simply giving the nod to XP doesn’t address this issue. As Linux-based MIDs and low-cost PCs running optimized shells are going to demonstrate and the iPhone excells at, a good OS needs a good user experience. XP is so-so when it comes to small displays. For instance, some windows need at least 600 pixels high or they won’t fit. OEMs have addressed this by bumping up the display resolution. But then everything is itsy bitsy. Fine for young eyes, but not mine. Actually it’s not the number of pixels that’s the real issue, its how the pixels are used. Tiny buttons are hard to target, for instance. And frankly, small displays should have a different shell. It’s fine for Windows Explorer to be an option or the desktop to be front and center, but that’s not the best user experience. And then there’s the whole issue as to whether everything should be mouse and keyboard oriented on small devices. Try an iPhone and you’ll see.

Here’s one other thing that’s troubling me about this whole announcement: Mary Jo Foley is reporting that the XP extension will not apply to “higher-priced and more robust UMPCs.” Wow, this is a misreading of the UMPCs space. So soon Microsoft itself forgets that the whole idea of the UMPC was to build a low-cost device. Further, these new low-cost PCs are essentially UMPC-like systems with a keyboard and without touch and for lower price. They are UMPCs. I’m hoping that this is just a bit of miscommunication. UMPCs are supposed to be low-cost devices and they will run on low end hardware. The OEMs messed this all up, which is why in part the sales have been lackluster. (Although I think it’s also because the user experience wasn’t all the inspiring either.)

One more thing: Microsoft I’m sure is focused on competition along the OS front–both from Linux and OS X–and the web too for that matter–but it’s important to not lose sight of Intel. Intel really defines what the industry does, in large part because it makes the processors and chips that many systems use. Here’s the thing, for the last year or so and at least the next year or two Intel’s roadmap is about “portable” processors, not power house notebook systems. In other words, I would not be surprised to see the growth on the low-end systems to outpace most others–simply because this is where Intel is putting its energy. Microsoft I assume knows this and I expect the next version of Windows will address this…maybe? If not, we’ll be hearing the slam of more body punches.

Now here’s the part that really erks me: it appears from Microsoft’s announcement that XP Home addition is all that Microsoft is giving extra time for. But what about ink? There’s no Tablet PC edition. So in other words, the low-cost PCs, which are great for young students on up, which is exactly where ink makes a lot of sense, won’t have it built in. Amazing.

Now here’s the real kicker. There is a way around this: the browser. Using Silverlight and web services to handle recognition, you can build ink enabled applications for XP Home. So essentially Microsoft is saying no to ink and yes at the same time. It doesn’t make sense. (We have yet to see how good Silverlight will be on Linux systems though. Depends on what Novel comes up with.)

Microsoft needs to think a bit harder about its commitment to ink and the ink ecosystem. It appears that it’s getting too defensive, trying to separate out its value at the high end. Come on, what about the kids? If for no other reason, Microsoft should be doing the right thing to make the education experience better for students–no matter what the lost revenue at the high end–which is a stupid argument in itself, because ink is essentially given away for free in several higher versions of Vista and under marketed across the board at that.

If I were Microsoft I’d flip this whole notion of technology exclusivity and license the heck out ink and its top-notch recognition. Why not? Go make some money from it. Get it out there. People will know that it comes from you. Isn’t that a good thing? Make some money. Get some exposure?

So I’m sitting here, shaking my head, realizing that as a Tablet developer I have to keep thinking beyond Microsoft’s immediate strategies. I hope they change or at least Microsoft blows me away with the next version of Windows–because if it doesn’t my head and shoulders are going to get mighty sore from shaking and shrugging and squinting my eyes every time–BAM–there’s another–WHAM–body punch. Ugh.

Update: Not everyone agrees with the idea of extending XP. Joe Wilcox blogs that he’s been advocating to shutdown XP for awhile in order to boost Vista sales.

At Intel’s IDF event in China, Intel is talking up its forthcoming MID-enabling technology–namely the low-power, Atom processors.

I’m quite excited to see how this market pans out, but as I’ve blogged about in the past, I see a tough road ahead for Intel and its partners in this category. The two biggest challenges? The running start of the iPhone and iPod Touch as well as the fact that Intel’s MID component is missing a strong software partner. The iPhone/iPod Touch illustrate the importance of this. For instance, not only is the iPhone well designed at the user level, one should also check out the SDK. There’s nothing on par with it.

Now some could argue that Apple isn’t an enterprise expert and so there’s room for others. Yep, but I think it’s clear that Apple’s going to keep growing into this area too. But Apple has the distinct advantage of also having the respect of many early adopters. This is going to be a big challenge for Intel.

There are a few things Intel can do. They are:

1) Get a strong software partner. I think there are only two winning choices: Microsoft or Google. Either one will work. One is needed.
2) Think even cheaper. Lowering prices will eat into revenues, but Intel is behind. It’s going to take more than low power to win here. My concern is that if Intel lowers its prices the OEMs will take the opportunity to increase their profit since numbers probably won’t be as good as they want. The workaround is for Intel to give rebates to consumers. I’m thinking of something substantial for the early buyers. Maybe $100 dollars. The amount drops would drop off after 30 days.
3) Leverage the X86 community. Give away dozens if not hundreds of devices to leading bloggers. Invite them to your conferences. Get them talking.
4) Leverage leading, online trends. For example: Encourage at least one partner (or do it yourself) to build a MID device that’s very, very good at live video streaming. Think Nokia N95 without the phone–which can get in the way and cause streams to drop anyway. Think great lens. Think great image sensor. Think good chat readability. Think good battery life better than 20-30 minutes.