Silverthorne-based MIDs likely too pricey for Ed Tech

Intel announced pricing on it's Silverthorne (now Centrino Atom) processors at the Intel Developers Forum today. According to the Washington Post,

There will be five versions of the Atom processor, formerly called Silverthorne, available as part of the Centrino Atom package. These processors run at maximum clock speeds of 800MHz, 1.1GHz, 1.33GHz, 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz and cost $45, $45, $65, $95 and $160, respectively, in 1,000-unit quantities, a standard way of quoting chip prices.

These prices are lower than Intel's Core 2 Duo mobile processors, which range in price from $637 to $209 in 1,000-unit quantities, according to Intel's March 25price list. But the Centrino Atom prices are high enough to suggest that MIDs based on the chips will not be cheap when they hit the market.

The most basic of these first MIDs will likely cost US$500, "plus or minus a hundred," said Gary Willihnganz [CQ], director of marketing at Intel's Ultra Mobility Group, adding that MID prices will rise depending on what features, such as Windows or additional memory, are added to the device.

The good news? Forgo Windows and you'll keep the price down on this new crop of slick little handheld devices called MIDs or Mobile Internet Devices. The bad news? With first generation prices in the $500 price range, most of us will need to look to Diamondville-based mini-laptops for cost-effective 1:1 solutions for now. No pricing is available yet, but Intel is expecting their 3rd-generation Classmates (which will feature Atom-family Diamondville processors) to be highly competitive in terms of price.