The mobile phone continues to revolutionize our everyday lives. What started off resembling a brick has evolved into a powerful mechanism for staying connected to everyone around us. It has transformed from a simple voice communicator to a personal multifunction, multimedia device that transcends the distance that separates one individual from another. With the integration of new features, the ordinary phone is morphing into an “all-in-one” converged device.

As the world embraces new wireless technologies, unique market segments are developing within the mobile marketplace. Today, the development of Mobile Internet Devices (MID) is taking the market by storm. In fact, analyst firm ABI Research forecasts that 90 million MIDs will ship by 2012 (Source: "Mobile Internet Devices and UMPCs," 09/13/07). In this article, we’ll look at the evolution and key drivers of the MID market. We also will address the technology foundation required for these new devices to realize success, as increasingly complex applications fuel the need for more innovative silicon designs that reduce time-to-market.