A month ago, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), introduced a new chip category, the Atom brand, specifically designed for mobile internet devices, or what Intel it calls MIDs. After missing out on the market for cellphone chips, Intel is trying to push this technology and will use a conference in Shanghai to proclaim it as the next big thing in consumer gadgets.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Intel also said "25 hardware companies have decided to make portable Internet devices using its latest chip technology" for gadgets that are smaller than a laptop but bigger than a smartphone. Apparently, the devices will start appearing in late May and early June on store shelves in China, Japan and South Korea. N.America and Europe distribution will come at a later date.

I find it fascinating that a new category of product is being pushed from the chip level rather than from the manufacturer level. But perhaps manufacturers are bound by chip capabilities and with the Atom, specifically designed to draw little power and thus conserve battery power, it makes sense.

As PDAs seem to have all but disappeared from the market, most of us these days rely heavily on our laptops and mobile devices, separating the functions of both, especially when travelling. One is more for email, the other more for work and browsing capabilities. A device that could potentially combine both may be exactly what is needed. At a $500 price tag, when an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone or a Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry costs nearly the same, this might just find its place among those on the move.