NVIDIA looks to set the cat amongst the pigeons with its announcement at MWC 09 that it intends to leverage its graphics marketplace presence by launching a chipset specifically for MID's - and its talking Android. The MID (Mobile Internet Device) is the kind of device which is bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a netbook, and NVIDIA is focussing on reduced power consumption whilst significantly improving their multimedia capabilities.

Ericsson has been cosying up with NVIDIA on the internet side of things, so we can expect all the usual WiFi/3G and beyond connectivity support. Not to put all its eggs in one basket, they are also targetting Microsofts Windows CE platform - par for the course for a chipset manufacturer.

The new platform is based on the Tegra 600 series, and Michael Rayfield, GM of the mobile business unit at NVIDIA, said "Until now, consumers could get just another 'gadget' with limited functionality or a PC that's not 'always on'. A Tegra-based platform combines the best of both worlds."

These babies will be capable of playing HD content and have a battery life measured "in days". The Tegra has an Arm-based CPU and the GeForce graphics core on a single chip, resulting in the huge efficiency gains NVIDIA has pioneered in its PC graphics card market. These full systems-on-a-chip offer fully integrated 3D graphics and are due to start shipping "mid 2009" .