According to word from Intel, Apple will be relying on the processor company more and more in the future. In fact, Apple has committed to Intel's Menlow Mobile Internet Device platform and Silverthorne mobile processors for products in its 2008 lineup. Could the second-generation iPhone have an "Intel Inside" sticker on it?Apple Insider spilled the juicy details. It learned in an interview with Intel that Apple plans to integrate two of Intel's major platforms slated for 2008: Menlow and Silverthorne.

People familiar with the matter tell AppleInsider that Apple will soon emerge as one of the largest supporters of Intel's "Menlow" Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform -- the same platform the Santa Clara-based chipmaker has been harping about for the past several months.

More specifically, those same people say, Apple has taken a liking to the upcoming 45-nanometer (nm) "Silverthorne" chip, agreeing to use it in not one but multiple products currently situated on its 2008 calendar year product road map.

That's exciting news indeed. Silverthorne, which has the power of second-generation Pentium M chips, is both powerful enough to run laptops (such as the rumored Apple ultraportable) and energy efficient enough to be used in mobile products (such as the next-generation 3G iPhone).

Says AppleInsider, "...in addition to its extremely favorable power envelope, Silverthorne can fit onto a scant 74-mm by 143-mm motherboard -- paving the way for lighter, sleeker industrial designs. What's more, Intel in September announced plans to offer ultra-mobile PC builders such as Apple the option to build Wi-Fi, 3G, and WiMax technologies into their Menlow-based chip packages, such as Silverthorne."

What this all means is that Apple and Intel are going to be working together on mobile devices a lot more in the future.