While Windows Mobile 7, the next version of Microsoft's mobile phone OS is still in work and not yet officially announced, mobile phone chip giant Qualcomm sees a bright future of it already, especially for use on mini Laptop's aka MID's or maybe even UMPCs. On Monday Qualcomm showed off a mini Laptop that could cost around US$ 299, joining the Asus Eee PC Laptop-class which should offer a quick wireless access to the Internet via 3G networks. While the prototype, which is made by Taiwan's Inventec, is currently running on a Linux OS, Luis Pineda, senior vice president at Qualcomm said on a conference that Microsoft Windows Mobile 7, which is made for chips used in mobile phones, will be more laptop friendly than older versions of Windows Mobile.

Qualcomm hopes Windows Mobile 7 will make its Snapdragon chipsets a more vital competitor in mini Laptops as it takes on PC processor makers Intel, AMD and Via. The Qualcomm chipsets come with 1GHz ARM processing cores and Qualcomm technology to connect mini Laptops and other devices to 3G mobile phone networks.
Snapdragon is already being used in the development of around 20 products, including personal navigation devices from Mio Technology, as well as products from High Tech Computer (HTC) and Samsung Electronics

Qualcomm's mini Laptop is not available yet, but Pineda mentioned that similar products could be out by the end of this year.

Cheers ~ Arne