They’re called mobile Internet devices (MIDS in industry parlance) and at the International Consumer Electronics Show here last week, they got a whole lot of attention.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini compared the importance and potential of mobile Internet devices to nothing less than the advent of television.

Manufacturers, including PC makers Lenovo and Asus and electronic companies Toshiba and Samsung, showed off prototypes that take pictures, make phone calls, play movies and music and browse the Internet.

Other companies are waiting in the wings

"It’s an area we’re watching very closely," said Scott Lingren, director of product group marketing at Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc.

On Tuesday at another tech conference in San Francisco, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs is expected to give updates about the next iPhone that could transform the device into an even more full-featured mobile Internet device.

If they live up to their promise, mobile Internet devices will let you do some of what you can do with a laptop - browse the Web, send e-mails, work on office documents and edit photos. They’ll let you do what you can do with an iPod or other media player, only with a bigger screen. And they’ll let you take pictures and make phone calls, like you can with a camera phone today.

Question is: Do most consumers need or even really want such a device when we already have so many other ways to do the same things?

At this point, probably not, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at tech consulting firm Jupiter Research Inc.

Consumers are unwilling to carry around yet another gadget in addition to their cell phones, laptops, music players and other electronics gear, he said, adding that MIDS simply don’t replace those devices.

Meanwhile, the latest versions of full-fledged mobile Internet devices are still very expensive - 0-,000 or more - for most consumers.

And then there’s the lack of a good infrastructure to make them work well, at least in the United States. Cell phone service isn’t really good enough, WiFi wireless Internet service is too spotty and long-promised WiMax wide-area wireless networks are still a long way off.

"It’s definitely an unproven category that hasn’t hit mainstream ...but that doesn’t keep vendors from trying," Gartenberg said.

Nobody is trying harder than Intel.

In its never-ending search for new markets, the world’s biggest semiconductor company is launching a major push to make mobile Internet devices mainstream that could rival its ubiquitous "Centrino" wireless computing and "Intel Inside" campaigns.

The company is investing billions in factories to make new mobile Internet processors specifically for such devices.

It is one of the biggest backers of the WiMax technology, which promises to deliver seamless high-speed broadband Internet service wirelessly across cities and other areas.

Intel is branching out into other areas, too. A few weeks ago, the chipmaker introduced what it claims is the world’s smallest solid-state hard drive, designed specifically for small devices like handheld computers, phones and other gadgets that can be used to connect to the Internet on the go.

Intel’s push to "put the Internet in your pocket" is aimed at delivering information from the Internet to consumers that they can’t get with today’s cell phones or without logging on with a laptop, said Anand Chandrasekher, general manager of Intel’s ultra-mobility group.

Users of a new sort of mobile Internet device could watch live snippets of a TV show while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, for instance, or finish a PowerPoint presentation and e-mail it to their bosses. Consumers could get news and other information at any time or any place, or instantly send videos to friends from their visit to a tourist attraction or nightspot.

"A lot of people want (an Internet) snack, a little snippet of information here and there and then they want to put it back into their pocket," Chandrasekher said. "The demand is quite large."

Of course, making computers smaller and more connected has been an industry trend for decades.

After the desktop came the laptop, then the portable, then the ultra-mobile and now the mobile Internet device.

Apple’s iPhone kicked off the latest industry push.

It is expensive and has limitations, Apple’s marketing magic made the iPhone the must-have gadget of 2007 and paved the way for the next generation of mobile Internet devices.

iPhone is a great product, but it’s an early product," Chandrasekher said. "We see it as providing taillights for the rest of the industry."

If iPhone’s high price - currently about 0, plus a monthly service fee of -0 - put it off limits to most consumers, the even higher price of next generation mobile Internet devices will make them even more off-limits to most.

"They’ve got to be sub-0 for consumers to buy them," said Tim Bajarin, president of tech industry consulting firm Creative Strategies.

Manufacturers behind some of the mobile Internet device prototypes on display at the Consumer Electronics Show last week declined to say what they expect to eventually charge for them.

Intel competitor Via Technologies Inc., which has offices in Austin and Arlington, Texas, was showing off mobile Internet devices commonly available in Asia and Europe that cost as much as $ 1,500.

Intel officials say prices in the United States will come down as the company ramps up production of its semiconductors and other parts for mobile Internet devices. Intel expects to deliver its first big batches of chip platforms designed specifically for them - it calls the platform Menlow - within the next several months.

With that timetable, manufacturers could expect to mass deliver mobile Internet devices by this fall, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season.

"Menlow is the beginning of this shift," Chandrasekher said. "It will start this ball rolling."

If nothing else, Intel’s sheer heft and marketing power could be enough to make mobile Internet devices mainstream.

This is the company, after all, that almost single-handedly launched today’s wireless computing movement, and is able to convince consumers and businesses to upgrade their computers every few years by introducing more powerful chips.

"The main reason I believe this market will be successful is because of Intel’s push," said analyst Bajarin. "They’ve got a lot of skin in the game." (Bob Keefe, Cox News Service)

Small and smaller - what’s the difference? Industry definitions vary, but here’s a look at some of the main differences in the still-developing world of portable computing.

ULTRA-PORTABLE: A type of laptop that’s super-thin and super-light. Often designed around entertainment uses. Examples: Sony Viao, Toshiba Portege.

ULTRA-MOBILE PC: Computers small enough to hold in one hand, but that still offer a full-fledged version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Typically have screens that are seven inches or bigger. Examples: Samsung Q1, TabletKiosk’s EO line.

SMART PHONES: More cell phone than computer, but still allow some Internet functions such as basic Web browsing and e-mail. Examples: Palm Treo, BlackBerrys.

MOBILE INTERNET DEVICES: Devices that are bigger than smart phones but smaller than laptops. May or may not have a full computer operating system. Designed for Internet accessibility and entertainment on the go as much as for making phone calls. Early example: Apple iPhone.