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Although at the IDF, there was hardly any focus on Intel's next-generation Nehalem chip and even less on the Centrino 2 processor, the focus squarely was on devices that won't necessarily run Microsoft software i.e. handheld-size MIDs--or mobile Internet devices--and Netbooks.
Netbooks can run both Microsoft Windows and the Linux, but the MID category appears to be shaping up as a Microsoft-free zone. MID makers, who are expected to begin shipping devices later this quarter, include Lenovo, Toshiba, Panasonic, and LG Electronics.
Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, said in his IDF keynote: "As always, we partner with Microsoft."
