Intel’s Atom processor line has become ubiquitous with netbooks and most nettops, but these aren’t the only areas the Santa Clara chip maker sees Atom processors making a splash. Recent reports suggest Intel will make a serious push into the tablet mar… [...]
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Sometimes it escapes our attention that people are still buying huge numbers of PCs these days. Intel’s quarterly profit announcement reminded everyone of that today with news that the chip maker had record profits of $2.9 billion. Not to belabor th… [...] Keeping true to its roadmap, Intel on Tuesday announced a couple of new Atom processors — Atom D425 and D525 — designed for nettops, low-power desktops, and all-in-ones. You’ve probably never heard of SeaMicro before, but if the company was looking to make waves in the media, job well done. That’s the sort of thing that happens when you manage to cram 512 Intel Atom processors into a 10U rack mount space. Intel’s first-gen Atom processors had a nice run and single-handedly kept both the processor market and PC shipment sector in the black during a worldwide tech recession that rocked 2009, but the dated chips are finally up for retirement.
Today being the first day of the Computex convention in Taipei, Intel wasted no time in discussing its Atom processor strategy and the Atom franchise in general. "Intel believes the strength of the Atom franchise can help consumers realize the true potential for a common experience to enable the compute continuum," David Perlmutter, executive vice president and co-general manager, Intel Architecture Group, said during a keynote. "With platforms ranging from compact and portable netbooks, to Smart TV experiences and innovative tablets designs, Intel Architecture is driving innovative products based on a unique ‘port of choice’ software strategy." In production now and expected to launch in time for the holiday shopping season are several mobile dual-core Atom chips, which Intel promises "will deliver a noticeably snappier, more responsive consumer experience" without sacrificing battery life. Intel Atom N455 and N475 parts with DDR3 support are already available, while D525 and D425 chips for entry-level desktops are on tap for a June 21 release date. Looking further ahead, Intel said it will have its "Oak Trail" system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform ready for an early 2011 release. Oak Trail represents Intel’s Atom processor strategy for the tablet market and upcoming netbooks.
Image Credit: Intel [...]
If you’re planning to buy a netbook, you should probably hold off until the dual-core models start shipping. Intel’s upcoming dual-core Atom N550 chip is expected to debut in the third quarter of this year, which will feature a 1.5GHz clockspeed, 1MB of cache, and an 8.5W TDP. So what about the netbooks that will be built around this new chip? According to reports, the recommended price range for these dual-core netbooks is $350-$400. In addition to the N550 part, these netbooks will also sport 1GB of DDR3 memory and either a 20GB-30GB SSD or 250GB HDD. Other specs will be the same as what you’ve come to expect from a modern day netbook, only you should be able to do more with the addition of a dual-core processor. It should be noted that Intel-based dual-core netbooks already exist, but the current crop are all built around Nvidia’s ION platform. These typically run between $450 and $500 and include a bit more screen real estate (11.6-inch and 12.1-inch panels are common for ION-based netbooks).
Image Credit: Intel [...]
Intel hasn’t officially launched its new Atom N455 and N475 processors, but that hasn’t stopped some eager vendors from letting the cat out of the bag. One of those is Toshiba Japan, which earlier today posted a product page for the new NB305-10F netbook before quickly pulling it offline. According to the spec sheet, the new model is largely unchanged from the original NB305, save for the faster processor (1.66GHz) and 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Over at Amazon Germany, the same processor is being flaunted in a couple of new HP Mini 210 netbooks available in black or silver. The 10.1-inch machines are slated to arrive in 3-4 weeks and boast the same Atom N455 processor as the above Toshiba, 1GB of DDR3 memory, Intel GMA 3150 graphics, and a 250GB hard drive.
Image Credit: Toshiba via netbookitalia.it [...] |
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