Intel is set to release on April 18th a new ultra mobile platform which will provide double the battery life (up to 5 hours) and a smaller footprint. New ports will allow GPS, 3G, and DTV type devices to be added. The CPU is known as “McCaslin,” will be about 1/3 the size of previous chips. The decreased size will thus result in lower production cost. The UMPC might eventually get down to the target price range of $500 as described when it was first released. This announcement comes a mere few days after we unboxed the OQO model 2, which uses Via’s small form factor C7M. This new McCaslin is said to be Intel’s response to the C7M. Look for an official word from Intel on the 18th.

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