Yesterday’s news refresh about HTC’s Dream has spurred me into taking a wider view on the device again. We heard about the HTC Dream last November and I speculated, based on some publicised ID features, that it might be based on an Intel prototype. The sizing was similar and that swivel screen that HTC talked about matches up well. It was a bit of a long-shot, yes, but I think the odds have shortened somewhat since we heard that HTC is working on a MID with call capabilities. Mash those two stories up and one of the theories that drops out is a very interesting possibility that Intel could be pushing the Atom/MID/Moblin concept into the Open Handset Alliance and that the Dream could be an Intel Atom-based Android smartphone.
What if Intel are contributing the Moblin Kernel to the OHA/Android and enabling an Atom-enabled Android build? What if Dream is built on an Intel Atom processor and is both the rumored HTC MID and HTC Dream in one? According to the sizing rumors, Dream could quite easily be an Atom-based MID.
If Intel are contributing Atom-enabling software along with their Atom silicon, their flash memory silicon, their WiMax silicon and their MID ecosystem, to Android, it will be a HUGE step for Atom into the consumer Internet handset market. Considering that Intel aren’t exactly aligning themselves with Microsoft on this project and are trying to push Moblin out though as many distributors as possible, it makes at least some sense, especially when you consider that ARM aren’t part of the OHA. ARM licensees that are part of OHA might have something to say about it though and that’s the big crack in my theory at the moment.
IDF Shanghai is in a few weeks. Lets see what Anand has to say about ‘Enabling the best Internet Experience in your Pocket’ Will they announce a big new partner? The stage lights are already on Atom, will the OHA be there too?
