Intel and LG to hook up in Moorestown

At the GSMA Mobile World Congress today Intel announced that LG Electronics will use its latest generation technology to build a new class of device called mobile internet devices (MIDs).

Specifically, Intel and LG will work together to build these new devices using a processor Intel has codenamed Moorestown. The devices will also use a version of the Linux open-source operating system called Moblin. The LG device is expected to be one of the first Moorestown designs to market. And Intel has said devices using the new Moorestown chips will hit the market by 2010.

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Intel and LG have already been working closely together on other products. In the fourth quarter last year, LG launched a netbook using Intel's Atom processor. And LG also ships full-fledged notebooks using Intel's Core processor.

Now, the companies are working on a new class of product that are mini-computers that can also be used to make phone calls using a wireless internet connection. Intel sees the category of product as something that is somewhere between a smartphone, like the Apple iPhone, and a netbook.

As the global economy continues to deteriorate, Intel, like many other large companies, is looking for growth markets. The company's bread-and-butter PC processor business is suffering as people stop buying desktop computers.

Intel sees mobile devices, and specifically the MID market, as an important area for growth. While the overall mobile phone market was down about 12.6 per cent worldwide in the fourth quarter, according to IDC, smartphones were actually up about 22.5 percent.

To date, Intel hasn't really played in this growing market. Instead, other players, such as ARM, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments, have divvied up considerable market share in the mobile phone market.

But Intel wants a piece of the pie. So the company has been pushing this new category of device. Intel argues that consumers need a device that's more powerful than a smartphone but not as bulky as a netbook or laptop. The idea is that consumers who buy a MID could use it to watch high-definition video, make phone calls using the internet, or download information from the web while on the go.

Original article: Intel partners with LG on mobile Internet devices from CNET News.com