NetbookTech

Think the Atom processor is losing some stream? Think again folks.

Day 1 of Computex shaped up to be a big day for the Intel Atom processor with Intel announcing:

• New dual-core Atom processors for the netbook market (finally!)
• The new “Canoe Lake” reference design for ultra-thin netbooks measuring a mere 14mm thick
• Intel “Oak Trail” – an upcoming Atom platform optimized for tablets and sleeker netbook form factors
• Intel AppUp Center to be available first on ASUS netbooks
• The addition of DDR3 support for the Intel Atom processor

We’ll start first with the new Atom processor announcements.

As expected, Intel finally announced dual-core Atom processors were coming to the netbook platform with production expected by next week and new netbooks based on the new dual-core Atom processors available by the winter holiday shopping season.

In total, four new Atom processors were announced at Computex. The single-core N455 and dual-core N475 for netbooks and the single-core D425 and dual-core D525 for nettop desktop systems. The N455 clocks in at 1.6GHz while the N475 clocks in at 1.83GHz with both mobile processors having a rated power consumption of 6.5 watts. Both desktop processors have a clock speed of 1.8GHz with the D425 having a TDP of 6.5 watts while the D525 has a TDP of 8.5 watts. The N455 and N475 for netbooks are available today while systems based on the D525 and D426 processors are scheduled to be available beginning June 21st.

Next up, Intel showed off their new “Canoe Lake” netbook reference design which incorporates their “Pine Trail” platform with a new thermal design yielding a netbook form factor measuring a mere 14mm thick. Basically, think of Canoe Lake as a demonstration of what’s possible with single-core or dual-core Atom processor based netbooks. The company expects to see netbooks based on this technology “over time” – a.k.a. don’t expect it anytime soon.

Check out more pictures of Canoe Lake over at Gizmodo.

Continuing to look ahead, Intel announced the “Oak Trail” Atom platform specifically optimized for tablets and sleeker netbook form factors and planned for early 2011. “Oak Trail” will supposedly deliver up to 50 percent reduction in average power consumption with full HD video playback and will target a variety of OS’s including MeeGo, Windows 7, and Android.

Finally Intel announced ASUS will be launching their “ASUS App Store” and will also be the first manufacturer to ship netbooks pre-installed with a client based on the Intel AppUp Center. These netbooks are scheduled to ship in the fall of 2010 on all devices running Windows. ASUS also plans to ship netbooks based on MeeGo at a later date.

Phew.. a lot of Atom stuff.. more to come!

[Check it out]

[Check out the News Fact Sheet]

[Check out PC Mag’s coverage]

As previously reported, Intel plans on releasing a new dual-core Atom processor during the third quarter of this year called the Atom N550. The new processor, slated for netbooks, will feature a clock speed of 1.5GHz, 1MB of cache, and a TDP of 8.5 watts. This would be the first Atom processor specifically designed for netbooks as all previous dual-core Atom processors were officially designed for desktop systems (aka nettops).

Additionally, Fudzilla reports Intel plans on refreshing their current Atom processor lineup with the new Atom N455 and N475 processors which are expected to be slightly faster than current N450 and N470 processors.

Netbooks based around the N455 and N475 are expected to cost between $249 to $349 while netbooks with the N550 are expected to range from $350 to $400 dollars.

Expect dual core netbooks to start appearing during the third quarter of this year.

[Check it out via ZDNet]

[Reprinted from Krunker.com]

Intel announced a new version of the Atom processor platform (code-named Moorestown) yesterday designed specifically for the low-power requirements of markets such as smartphones, tablets, and mobile handheld products.

The new platform is made up of the Atom processor Z6xx Series Family (formerly known as “Lincroft”) system-on-chip (SOC), the Intel Platform Controller Hub MP20 (formerly known as “Langwell”), and a dedicated Mixed Signal IC (MISC) formerly known as “Briertown.”

Just like the “Pineview” Atom processors, the new Atom Z6xx processors combine the 45nm Intel Atom processor core with 3D graphics, video encode, and video decode, as well as memory and display controllers into a single SOC design.

Taken together, the new platform delivers “significantly lower power including >50x reduction in idle power, >20x reduction in audio power, and 2-3x reductions across browsing and video scenarios – all at the platform level when compared to Intel’s previous-generation product”.  According to Intel, all these savings translates to more than 10 days of standby power, up to two days of audio playback and four to five hours of browsing and video playback battery life.

Yet despite the power-consumption reductions, the new platform will supposedly deliver up to “1.5-3x higher compute performance, 2-4x richer graphics, >4x higher JavaScript performance, and support for full HD 1080p high-profile video decoding and 720p HD video recording.”

Lower power requirements and higher performance – always a good thing in our book!

According to Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group,

“Intel has delivered its first product that is opening the door for Intel architecture [IA] in the smartphone market segment,”

Intel certainly hopes this new platform will result in more (or rather new) smartphone/tablet design wins – especially since current generation Atom processors have been primarily relegated to netbooks and nettops systems. Oh .. and did anyone notice how many new devices were coming out supporting the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor? Yeah we’re sure Intel’s been noticing too!

[Check it out]

Although Intel has been making minor enhancements to the Atom processor platform over the last several years (most notably the Pinetrail platform), an Atom-based netbook purchased today really isn’t that much more powerful than an Atom-based netbook from 2008. Most of the recent enhancements involved improving battery performance (by integrating the GPU directly into the processor) and by cranking up the clock speed ever so slowly.

However with slowing Atom processor shipments, increased growth of the fairly inexpensive thin-and-light notebook market and more competitors entering the netbook market, it’s clear consumers want more than what is available from current day netbooks.

To ensure that the Atom processor maintains a somewhat competitive edge in the low-end computing market, Intel is reportedly planning on releasing a new dual core version of the Atom processor at some point this quarter. Although details are lacking at this time, many are hoping these new dual core Atom processors will be targeted to the mobile front as we’ve already seen dual-core Atom processors for the desktop market.

But wait your Atom-based netbook already shows two processors you say? Well that’s not entirely correct. Current-day netbooks (except for something like the ASUS 1201N which actually uses the desktop dual-core Atom processor) offer hyper-threading enabled single-core Atom processors which would explain why Windows shows two processor cores under task manager. What you’re really seeing is two logical cores – not physical cores.

If Intel indeed plans on releasing mobile versions of dual-core Atom processors, we might finally see a decent performance uptick for netbook systems. Throw in there possible DDR3 memory support and things might get interesting for netbooks.

Now keep in mind folks – Intel walks a very careful tight-rope when it comes to the Atom processor. It needs to keep the processor small, energy efficient, and just powerful enough for the low-end computing market as well as MID/smartphone market. However, it can’t increase the performance so much so that it threatens higher end computing segments.

[Check it out]

Intel pumps up the speed of the Atom Pinetrail platform with today’s introduction of the Atom N470 processor. Clocked at 1.83GHz, the Atom N470 becomes the highest clocked Atom processor for netbooks yet.

The N470 comes with 512k of L2 cache, DDR2-667 support, and of course, integrated graphics built directly into the CPU.

Intel expects major OEMs to introduce systems based around the new processor over the coming months.

[Check it out]

ASUS introduced their latest Eee PC Seashell 1008P netbook series designed by award-winning NY-based designer Karim Rashid today at CES 2010 in Las Vegas. The new series has the following features:

• Intel Atom N450 processor
• 1GB of DDR2 RAM
• 250GB hard drive
• 10.1 inch LED-backlit display with 1024 x 600 resolution
• 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Optional 3.75G and WiMAX
• 6+ hours of battery life
• Low-profile keyboard with large multi-touch trackpad
• Soft-touch surface easy on the wrists
• Windows 7 Starter
• High-gloss case is soft to the touch
• Measures 1 inch thick and weighs 2.42 lbs

The new 1008P is available in two colors – hot pink (see below) and brown gold (shown above and just below).

Although not formally announced as of yet, the new HP Mini 210 netbook featuring the new Intel Pine Trail platform is already up for sale at eCost.com. You’ll find several models at different price points at eCost.com as well as several color choices but more on that in a second.

The support page for the Mini 210 is also up over at HP’s website here. After perusing through the user manual for the Mini 210, I discovered that select models for the 210 will feature a multi-touch enabled display! Nice!

Other interesting tidbits include

• Chiclet style keyboard
• Mouse buttons are below the touchpad
• Speakers are located at the front of the netbook
• Right side of the netbook has (from left to right) a media card reader (supporting MS, MS PRO, MMC, SD/SDHC, xD-Picture Cards), power switch, 2 USB ports, Ethernet port, security slot
• Left side (from left to right) has power connector, battery light, VGA port, drive light, USB port, audio out/microphone jack
• Select models will support WWAN with SIM card located behind battery
• Supports 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth wireless connectivity
• Media controls on top of the keyboard
• Touchpad is gesture enabled
• One memory slot
• Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be an HDMI port with the Mini 210

OK, back to the eCost listings.  Color choices for the Mini 210 appear to be Matte Black with a pattern, Sonoma Red, Pacific Blue, and Black.

The lowest priced Mini 210 is a $321.99 model known as the 210-1010NR (which also is out of stock) with features including:

• Intel Atom N450 processor
• 10.1 inch flush glass display
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Windows 7 Starter
• Intel GMA 3150 graphics
• Media card reader
• 802.11 b/g
• Built-in webcam and microphone
• Solid black
• 3 cell battery

Next up is the black Mini 210-1030NR priced at $345.99. Specs are the same as above except the 3 cell battery is now a 6 cell battery.

Next is the Mini 210-1055NR priced at $366.99 (and out of stock) which appears to have the same specs as the previous model above (6 cell battery etc). I suppose the price adjustment is due to the color variations available. You can choose between Matte Silver with a pattern, Matte Black with a pattern, and Pacific Blue.

Finally, there’s the Mini 210-1080NR which comes with a larger hard drive (250GB 7200RPM HDD) as well as the six cell battery. Price for this system is $398.99.

Unfortunately it appears touch-screen versions of the Mini 210 are not available as of yet. Bummer.

Via News.com

Ah good ol LaptopMag. You can always count on them to offer the very latest in netbook and laptop reviews. Their latest set of netbook reviews offer a peak into what to expect out of Intel Atom N450-powered netbooks. The N450 is at the heart of the new Pine Trail platform which includes a new Atom processor core with integrated graphics in the core and a new chipset with reduced power requirements. In short, Pine Trail appears to promise minimal performance gains while achieving noticeable power consumption savings.

The first of two reviews from the publication was the newly announced ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-P. Similar to the extremely popular ASUS Eee PC 1005HA, the new 1005PE-P offers a larger hard drive (250GB), a better keyboard, and of course, an incredible battery life – thanks in no small part to the new Pine Trail platform. Here’s a blurb from the summary:

“While Intel’s new Atom N450 processor doesn’t really improve performance, the extra endurance it provides will certainly be welcome among netbook users. At $379, this netbook is a bargain, undercutting the Toshiba mini NB205 by $20 while lasting longer on a charge. We give the edge to the NB205 because of its more comfortable touchpad and mouse buttons, but the 1005PE is a still a stellar value.”

The second review is of the new MSI Wind U135 netbook which offers an extremely competitive price of around $329 dollars while also featuring the new Atom N450 processor. Unfortunately it appears the U135 doesn’t quite have the battery life of its competition with LaptopMag timing battery life at around 5+ hours. That’s an incredibly poor showing for an MSI netbook.

An excerpt from the verdict says it all:

“If you can swing the extra $50, we recommend the ASUS Eee PC 1005PE and its 5 extra hours of work and play time. But, if you’re really watching the bottom line, the U135 is worth a look.”

DigiTimes is reporting Foxconn Electronics will be launching two white-box netbook systems featuring the new Intel Pine Trail platform. Known under their code names, NS20 and NS24, the new systems are expected to offer fairly standard netbook features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, integrated webcam, and a media card reader. No word on the availability of the new systems.

ASUS formally announces their new lineup of Eee PC Seashell Series netbooks today with support for the new Intel Atom processor platform. The new Seashell models include the 1005P, 1005PE, and 1001P and feature ASUS’s proprietary Super Hybrid Engine which tailors the netbook’s “energy consumption patterns to suit any task at hand, optimizing energy efficiency and reducing power usage by up to 15%.” ASUS claims battery life reaching up to 14 hours on a single charge (although Engadget in their recent review of the 1005PE got around 8 to 10 hours of power).

The updated Seashell netbooks feature dual operating systems – Windows 7 or Express Gate which lets users boot up in just 8 seconds to surf the web, browse pictures, chat and play games online. Stay tuned for more info on these netbooks at CES 2010.

Now as I said earlier, Engadget recently reviewed the 1005PE netbook and found the following:

• Processor and graphics performance is slightly better with the Atom N450 vs the Atom N280. Probably not noticeable enough for most people
• Battery life is where it’s at – you’ll get around 20 percent more battery life with the 1005PE

Here’s a blurb from the review:

“If you’ve been waiting for Pine Trail netbooks hoping for noticeably better performance and graphics, you’re not going to get it — and the truth is you probably won’t even notice the difference between the 1005PE and older Diamondville-based Eee PCs until you start using it on battery power alone.”