"Intel is set to announce at its Intel Developer Forum (IDF) conference starting Monday in Beijing that it will launch a new UMPC platform called "McCaslin" using a "Stealey" microprocessor running at 600MHz or 800MHz and capable of supporting Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista OS, according to several technology blogs."

"Intel acknowledged it was working in that area, but declined to confirm the details of those reports. "We will have an announcement this month on the 'rumored' product, [but] until then I won't comment on speculation and rumors," Intel spokeswoman Connie Brown said in an e-mail."

"However, Intel executives have been hinting at this move for months. At an IDF show in San Francisco last year, Intel sparked many headlines with the news it would collaborate with Microsoft Corp.'s "Origami" software platform, that eventually reached markets as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Q1."

"And in January, the company said it planned to release a smaller, more power-efficient UMPC platform that would allow devices like TabletKiosk's EO series to offer full wireless Web access within 18 months, according to comments from Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, at a wireless symposium in California."

"The initiative may not produce quick profits for Intel. Critics say that vendors are trying to push UMPCs into an awkward market space called the "one-kilogram wasteland," with neither the long battery life of smartphones nor the fast processing power of laptop PCs."

"Intel has already dipped a toe in these waters, providing a Pentium M processor for Vulcan Inc.'s FlipStart. But like the competing Samsung Q1, Sony Corp. UX and OQO Model 02, that product has seen limited sales to niche buyers."

"Another challenge for Intel is that its chip-making competitor Via Technologies Inc. has already won space on many existing UMPCs with its C7-M chip. Intel hopes to compete for those accounts with its McCaslin platform, one analyst said."

"Regardless of which chip they use, UMPCs will probably not entice mainstream customers until their prices drop to a range of US$400 to $600 around 2010, said Samir Bhavnani, research director with Current Analysis. Without that alluring price, most consumers see UMPCs as "tweeners," too big to fit in pockets but too small to offer easy typing and productivity."

""The feedback on [first generation] devices has ranged from slightly negative to slightly positive, but nobody has judged these devices to be totally awesome," Bhavnani said. Intel is hustling to reach the nascent market now because it hopes to succeed in second-generation UMPCs, he said."

"Intel has already proved it can succeed with hardware bundles for mobile devices, like its Centrino product for notebook PCs. And Intel is expected to upgrade that product to the "Santa Rosa" Centrino platform in early May, adding better wireless
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