In my Monday ramblings I mentioned rumors I had read about the potential big announcement of a MID, UMPC or tablet style computer by Apple at their World Wide Developers Conference in June.
In macrumors: "but there have been rumors that Apple was developing a mini-tablet multitouch device for launch in 2008. This PDA-like device would reportedly have a higher screen resolution (720x480) and be about 1.5x the size of the existing iPhone." http://www.macrumors.com/2008/05/11/3g-iphone-in-may-another-device-at-wwdc/
In I4U News: "Apple is rumored to be building a Mobile Internet Device (MID). The MIDs market is shaping up and with the Intel Atom chipset it might have a chance this time around - anybody remember UMPCs?" http://www.i4u.com/article17163.html
Now another piece to the puzzle. Intel is one of the primary sponsor of the BMW Formula One racing team; during a recent event at BMW new museum in Munich (BMW World) Intel's managing director was quoted in ZDnet Germany (thanks to Brandon at pocketnow.com for finding this one and translating it).
"As part of an Intel event for the 40th birthday of the semiconductor company at Munich’s BMW World, Germany managing director Hannes Schwaderer confirmed today what has long been a rumor on the Internet: namely, that there is an iPhone with Intel’s new Atom chip. The device is slightly larger than the current version, Schwaderer said. That is not, however, because of the Intel chip, but because of the larger display used in the new iPhone."
The Atom chip is being used in many UMPCs including several Fujitsu models (currently on sale at costco.com). The cost of systems with these chips seems to be around $1000.
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