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Even with a brand new platform designed from the ground up, it's still going to be up to manufacturers to create products that the buying public wants, and that's the tricky bit. The Mobile Internet Device is, to some extent, a completely new category and it's up to manufacturers to convince consumers that it's a category worth investing in. And it's the consumer sector that's most likely to be targeted with MIDs, which means we won't hear all the excuses about "vertical markets" that followed the lacklustre performance of the UMPC.

Another factor that will help the MID is that manufacturers are being actively encouraged to offer Unix options, rather than trying to drive a bloated Vista install on a device that blatantly doesn't need such a resource hungry OS. The roaring success of the Asus Eee PC has proved that even the average consumer is happy to give a non-Windows device a try if the price is right, and the basic functionality is there. In fact, taking Windows out of the equation should result in MIDs that are fast, responsive and offer the kind of battery life you'd want from a mobile computer, no matter how small it may be.

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An MID concept device from Toshiba, shown at CES earlier this year.

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So, the Mobile Internet Device has a lot of potential, but that doesn't guarantee it success. With notebooks becoming slimmer, lighter and more affordable, you can easily have a fully functional PC in your bag without the weight penalty of yore. Likewise, with devices like Apple's iPhone and HTC's TyTN II, you can squeeze a massive amount of functionality into your pocket right now. Ideally, an MID should give you more than an iPhone can offer, while being considerably smaller and lighter than even the most svelte ultra-portable notebook. Manufacturers also need to make sure that any products are robust enough to survive being carried around all day, every day buy consumers.

As the name suggests, the real key to the MID concept is connectivity, and you should be able to find a machine to suit your own needs. Expect to see MIDs equipped with Wi-Fi, HSDPA and also WiMAX - the latter being a real Intel favourite, although there's not much in the way of support in Europe as yet. With connectivity being paramount, a good browsing experience will also be vital - if the iPhone has proved anything, it's that end users want the same browsing experience in their pocket, that they have on their desktop.

Ultimately, only time will tell if the MID becomes the success that Intel would like it to be. It's impossible to judge the platform until I've put some real, tangible hardware through its paces. That said, with the Menlow (or Centrino Atom) platform, Intel has given manufacturers a great base to work with, so I'd hope to see some cutting edge mobile devices hitting the market later this year. In fact I should be getting my paws on some early MID hardware very soon, so watch this space for a first glimpse of what the Mobile Internet Device may have to offer.

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