Windows Phone Thoughts: Menlow, MIDIA, and the future of Windows Mobile

If any of you have been following the news about the HTC Shift, you'll know that it's one of a number of devices that are going to be based on Intel's new Ultra Mobile platform 2007 (aka McCaslin), comprising a low-powered processor and assorted bits. HTC is just one of the companies that signed on for what Intel calls the Mobile Internet Device Innovation Alliance (MIDIA), the others being Aigo, Asus, Fujitsu, Haier and Samsung. What's more interesting is that this is just the beginning of Intel's penetration into the ultra-mobile space.

Due in 2008 is Menlow, which promises even greater space and power efficiency through the 45nm Silverthorne processor and Poulsbo chipset (somebody at Intel's a fantasy/science-fiction fan ;)). Menlow processors will be just a quarter of the size of current x86 designs, with about 1/10th the power requirements (try here for some interesting speculation over the potential enhancement in battery life), and even further chip miniaturization is in the works for future platforms. Sony's UX series is at the lower limit of the size that's possible with current off-the-shelf components (the OQO2 uses custom designed components) - now imagine something with the same processing and graphics capability but in less than half that volume (and hopefully half the price). Intel's gameplan appears to be to use Menlow in a series of Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) that will be priced in the region of $500, run Linux or Vista, and support Adobe's Apollo multimedia platform.

How does this impact on Windows Mobile? First, Intel's doing this on its own - the Origami concept (Intel processor and chipset, Microsoft Windows) looks like its dead in the water. Intel's looking at Linux primarily, although Vista is still in the picture. Secondly, the increased power efficiency and smaller space requirements in Menlow mean that even with current battery tehnology, you can have a viable x86 device in the same form factor as PDA designs. And that means future UMPCs/MIDs have the potential to be truly pocketable - no more compromises in terms of processing capability and software compatibility, yet portable in the true sense of the word. Intel's working Menlow prototype - pictured above - shows the kind of possibilities that we can expect from 2008 onwards. If you had a choice (price notwithstanding), which would you prefer? Is this why Microsoft appears to be 'dumbing' down Windows Mobile and positioning it more as a smartphone OS?