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Photos: Atom-based mobile Internet devices

Intel calls them "mobile Internet devices." They're built upon the diminutive Atom processor that was the star of IDF Shanghai this week.

Jon Skillings Editorial director
Jon Skillings is an editorial director at CNET, where he's worked since 2000. A born browser of dictionaries, he honed his language skills as a US Army linguist (Polish and German) before diving into editing for tech publications -- including at PC Week and the IDG News Service -- back when the web was just getting under way, and even a little before. For CNET, he's written on topics from GPS, AI and 5G to James Bond, aircraft, astronauts, brass instruments and music streaming services.
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  • 30 years experience at tech and consumer publications, print and online. Five years in the US Army as a translator (German and Polish).
Jon Skillings

You can't buy these little gadgets yet, but Intel certainly hopes that starting this summer, you'll buy them in droves.

The gadgets in question are what Intel calls "mobile Internet devices," built upon the diminutive Atom processor that was the star of the chipmaker's IDF Shanghai event this week. Pictured here is a prototype MID from Asus, best known these days for its Eee PC.

Other hardware makers that marched to the beat of Intel's marketing drum at IDF included Lenovo, LG, BenQ, and Panasonic. What they're getting their hands on is a low-cost, low-power processor that might in turn produce some relatively inexpensive gadgets for surfing the Web.

The Atom chip--which is smaller than a penny and ranges in power from 800MHz to 1.8GHz--is due to be officially released in June. Will it turn out to be "as important to Intel as the launch of the Pentium," as Intel's CEO Paul Otellini crowed this week?

It depends, in part, on whether you decide that your notebook PC is already enough of a mobile Internet device for you. Take a look at News.com's gallery to see if something grabs your fancy: "Photos: Atom chip breeds wee gadgets."