Mini computers are coming out this summer from Lenovo, Compal and others that contain the new tiny Intel chip named Atom.

Dan Snyder from Intel stopped by my office to show me more. He brought samples of the gadgets, a.k.a. Mobile Internet Devices, which look like Playstation Portables and are about 2 to 3 times larger than an iPhone but much smaller than a small laptop.

The Atom chip is not only much smaller than a regular chip, but it uses less power — between 0.6 to 2.5 watts compared to a regular chip’s 65 to 100 watts. In the photo on the right, the Atom is the tiny green/black speck on the far right (click image for larger view). It’s made from Intel’s 45 nm technology. Lots of Atom background material HERE.

Its small footprint and low power usage is a boon to upcoming computer devices like the Internet gadget from Lenovo, in the photo below, which comes out this summer, Snyder said. A more efficient processor uses up less battery and ultimately means you can browse the Internet for much longer.

(**UPDATE** Ahh… it’s Lenovo’s IdeaPad U8, here’s a YouTube video on it.)

While Atom may be too big for the iPhone, it is powerful enough to fuel the new type of computer option dubbed Nettops. Snyder also brought in one of those, called “Thinno,” (on right) which I have never heard of. That orange pen is the same one in the chip photo above. Apparently, this rivals ASUS’ 7-inch Eee PC. Thinno runs on Atom, which is a multi-core chip of around 1. 6 GHz.

Snyder admits that he’s not sure if people really do want a computer that is in between the size of the iPhone and a laptop. There are success stories (check out Samsung’s Ultra Q PC) but those target a very niche audience. How often do you see people whip out their Mobile Internet Devices, when they could be using a cell phone or a laptop?

Companies developing these MIDs believe the market is there and Intel is just encouraging that along. One last photo to leave you with: The Compal, on right, another ultra mini computer. Looks like Compal is another Asian computer maker. This is also coming this summer in the U.S., says Snyder.

Snyder shared tips on keeping your PC-based energy usage down, which I’ll share in a later post.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.