NetbookTech

As expected, Intel’s Atom processor will be seeing increased competition in 2009. HKEPC reports that VIA Technologies is readying a dual core Nano processor called the Nano 3000 processor. The report states that the new Nano 3000 is being manufactured by Fujitsu on a 65nm process (yes, the News.com report states 40nm which we believe is incorrect here), will feature 64 bit instructions, a 2MB L2 cache, and SSE4 instructions. Will we see the dual core Nano 3000 in future netbooks? We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Check it out via News.com]

By this time tomorrow, we may very well know more about what AMD’s plans are for the netbook market. An AMD spokesperson mentioned on Wednesday that “tomorrow we will discuss our plans to move into the ultraportable market and deliver new platforms aimed at the key areas driving the bulk of the mobile market expansion”. Notice that they say “ultraportable market”. It’s not entirely clear that this translates to the netbook market – but then again, AMD could be avoiding to use the “netbook” term simply because it’s a term that Intel popularized again (though they are not the originators of the term “netbook”).

Whatever the case might be, it’ll be interesting to see what AMD has in store for the ultra-portable market. As News.com points out, the company has been noticeably absent from the ultra-low voltage processor market – pretty much acquiescing this particular market to Intel’s ULV processors. Thus tomorrow could very well be the coming out party for a new AMD ULV processor OR.. it could be the unveiling of a new modified Geode processor.. OR it could be something totally new. Whatever the case might, it should be an interesting day for AMD fans.

[Check it out]

Did you know that Intel now owns the domain name “netbook.com” ? If you go to the URL, you’ll get redirected to a page entitled “Wireless Internet Laptop with Intel Atom Processor” (though a portion of the redirects do lead you to just intel.com as of this writing). Obtaining the rights to netbook.com makes a great deal of sense for Intel. It’s a simple marketing tactic – associating netbooks to the Intel Atom processor – thus making sure the two terms are synonymous with one another.

Many in the media suspect that Intel will turn this domain into a netbook portal of sorts. I tend to disagree – I think you’ll see the company continue to use the domain as a way to spread the message that netbooks are small wireless laptops running an Intel processor (preferably the Atom) inside. Just look at the current “overview” section on the front page. There are three key features listed and all of them mention the Intel Atom processor. It’s Intel quietly saying:

“netbooks == Intel Atom processors inside”

Now granted, Intel has every right to market all they want with the domain since.. well they own the domain, but I hope over time, the company will also use the site to educate consumers on different topics – such as:

• What makes a netbook different from a low end notebook
• What operating systems can be used on a netbook effectively
• Show how a user can be productive on any netbook no matter what OS is installed

It remains to be seen if customers will receive anything other than Intel propaganda over time..

[Check it out]

I figured this would be of some interest to netbook lovers and followers out there. VIA Technologies finally began commercial shipments of Nano processor last week. Why is this important you might ask? Well the VIA Nano is arguably the only competitor to the Intel Atom processor for the netbook market. Utilizing a superscaler design, the VIA Nano has a slightly higher thermal envelope than the Atom processor yet may provide better performance at times (though this has been somewhat controversial as several publications have noted that the Atom processor actually outperforms the Nano - especially in multi-tasking, multi-threaded operations thanks to hyper-threading on the Atom).

Now it should be noted that there are no known VIA Nano based netbooks planned for the near future.. but the Nano is pin compatible with the C7 processor which means any product with the C7 could in theory utilize the Nano easily.  From the netbook front, HP is the only notable C7 integrator with their HP Mini-Note system but it’s unclear if HP will come out with an upgraded system featuring the Nano processor (although it would be neat to see DIYers replace the C7 with the Nano in those boxes).

VIA does think that the future of netbooks resides in more powerful larger-screen systems. In a News.com interview, Glenn Henry, head of VIA’s Centaur Technology subsidiary, had this to say:

“Everyone wants to build a (netbook) of some variety these days.Most of the interest we see from customers is for a larger screen than the HP (2133). There’s a lot of demand to move those things up to higher screen sizes.”

I don’t know about you, but I like my 8.9 inch/10 inch screen. Sure a larger 12 inch screen would be better on the eyes.. but it’s more bulk that I simply don’t want to deal with.

[Check it out]

Intel officially began shipping their new dual core Intel Atom processor last week known as the Intel Atom Processor 330. The new processor model is designed specifically for nettop systems and feature:

• 1.6GHz processing core
• 1MB L2 cache
• 8W TDP
• Support for DDR2 667MHz memory

According to the Intel PR Chip Shots blog, the new processor is available as part of new Intel Desktop Board called the D945GCLF2. The specs for the D945GCLF2 include:

• Mini-ITX form factor
• Integrated 45nm Intel Atom Processor 330
• Intel 945GC Express Chipset
• Realtek ALC662 audio codec
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Eight USB 2.0 ports
• Two SATA ports
• One parallel ATA IDE interface
• One serial and parallel port
• Once PCI bus connector

Even though these new dual core Atom processors are designed for nettop systems, it’s not far fetched to imagine someone deciding to use these processors for netbook systems. Let’s hope so!

[Check it out via DailyTech]