Intel Atom-based “larger” iPhone disclosed by Intel Germany chief — can you say Newton?

No sooner do we talk about the future of Apple mobile computing devices, including perhaps an update to its famous Newton line of PDAs from the 1990s, does a report come in that reportedly confirms the existence of such a device. During Intel’s 40th birthday celebration in Munich, Intel Germany chief Hannes Schwaderer supposedly let it be known that Apple is using Intel’s new Atom chips in a new iPhone-like device, that is larger than the iPhone.

The report, coming from the German version of ZDNet (and translated by AppleInsider) is a bit confusing because Schwaderer seems to suggest that the device the Atom is bound for is actually a version of the iPhone. However he goes on to say that it has a larger display.

It doesn’t seem to make much sense that Apple would make an iPhone that is much larger than the current version (one report has the 3G version being a little thicker, but not with a larger screen). Instead, a new Newton-esque PDA or even PDA/Tablet would seem more likely. AppleInsider reported in September of last year that Apple was in fact working on a new version of the Newton device.

While the tablet PC market hasn’t been exactly lighting the world on fire (see: the UMPC), a device that is slightly larger and more powerful than that iPhone — and uses something like 3G technology, or even AT&T newly promised super-charge 3G capable of transmitting data at speeds of up to 20 megabits per second, would probably be pretty hard to pass up for a lot of consumers. (What has two thumbs and wants one already? This guy.)

[photo: flickr/Larsz]