Analysts expect global shipments of MIDs (mobile Internet devices) to skyrocket in the next four years, as will demand for the ICs in the small devices. Research from Forward Concepts predicts that MID shipments will grow from 305,000 units in 2008 to almost 40 million in 2012, reaching $12 billion in revenue. Analysts forecast IC revenue from MIDs will grow from $29 million in 2008 to $2.6 billion in 2012.

According to Forward Concepts, Texas Instruments is one of the two best-positioned non-x86-semiconductor vendors for supplying stand-alone application processors for MIDs. The company attributes that position to TI’s mature and proven OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Platform) application-processor family and its top market-share position in the stand-alone-smartphone-application-processor market.

Qualcomm is the other best-positioned non-x86-semiconductor vendor, according to Forward Concepts, which points to Qualcomm’s market-leading 3G wireless products for the MID market. Intel, which has been pushing MIDs as part of its Atom-processor-marketing strategy, has a much better shot at UMPCs (ultramobile personal computers), Forward Concepts says.