We’ve had years of talk about the battle for the digital living room, but increasingly the battle lines have been extended. The big entertainment technology companies want the living room and the entire mobile world. Yes, I know that’s an obvious statement when you look at the evolution of cell phones, but more important to this discussion is the recent boom in mobile Internet devices (MIDs).
There’s such a huge range of MIDs that’s it’s hard to narrow the definition down to a gadget’s primary function (or specific CPU). Some MIDs are slimmed down laptops, like the Lenovo IdeaPad Dave ordered or the acclaimed Asus Eee, some are souped-up media players, like the new Archos line, and some are, yes, cell phones, notably the iPhone.
So who is going to dive deep into the MID business next? Do I hear a vote for the content companies? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Disney tablets, ESPN portable scoreboards, mini CNN news screens. I can see them now…
