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!

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[Check out the News Fact Sheet]

[Check out PC Mag’s coverage]

Dropped by the Intel table over at the Digital Experience tonight and snapped up some still shots of new netbooks and MIDs on display. I don’t have details on these systems but they’re really not anything new to frequent netbook news readers out there. These systems are all based on the new Pine Trail platform so expect the Atom N450 (or even the new N470 processor). We’ll be dropping by the Intel booth at CES Day 1 tomorrow so stay tuned for even more info. Enjoy the following pics.

Missed this one last week but the Moblin steering committee released Moblin v.2.1 for Intel Atom processor-based netbooks and nettop systems. Features in the latest release of Moblin include the following (courtesy of the Moblin.org website here):

• New Internet browser which “far exceeds” the previous browser performance and adds plug-in support and add-ons
• 3G data support using Ericsson MBM 3G modems
• Moblin Application Installer is integrated. Application selection comes from the Moblin Garage
• Clutter 1.0 animation framework
• Bluetooth device support. Device discovery and pairing is now supported via a new panel in the toolbar. Moblin now supports Bluetooth audio devices, input devices, OBEX file transfer, and using a Bluetooth  phone as a 3G modem
• New version of ConnMan which now supports Ethernet, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and 3G
• Support for nettop systems
• Improvements to Instant Messaging
• Input method support now included across the system
• Localized in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional
• Includes updated versions of key technology components including Linux kernel version 2.6.31, Intel Linux graphics driver 2.9, X server 1.6.4, and Mesa 7.6.

If you’re curious about one person’s experience in getting Moblin 2.1 up and running on a netbook, head over to the Intel Atom Developer Program and check out Gina Bovara’s posting on installing Moblin 2.1 on an ASUS Eee PC 1005HA netbook.  Here’s a quick blurb from that posting:

“I have entered the world of Moblin with my Asus Eee 1005HA netbook, and I am loving it so far! I’ve been move productive on the go this week and I am having a lot of fun doing it!”

We tried out Moblin 2.0 beta when it was first released earlier this year. While it was certainly promising, it was still a bit too raw and buggy for our liking. We’ll have to give 2.1 a spin and see how this version fares!

You can download the images by going to this link over at the Moblin.org website.

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Ajay Mungara over at the Intel Atom Developer Program is asking netbook users two fairly basic questions- “What applications would you like to see on your netbook?” and “What is your typical usage of a netbook?”

Why is he asking these questions you might ask?

According to Mungara, users are expecting “demanding applications related to entertainment, productivity, communications, and security without compromising on either performance or usability.” The problem is, your typical netbook usage model fits somewhere between a mobile phone and a full fledged notebook which means many of today’s applications are far too demanding for a netbook system.

Thus the best way around this is to modify or create key applications that users care about and optimize them for the Atom platform. Application optimizations often center around the following:

• The apps need to be usable on a small resolution displays
• They need to be fast performing on the Atom processor platform
• They should work well within memory constrained systems
• They should not occupy large amounts of disk space

Thus going back to the original question – what apps do you use frequently on your netbook? Let Intel know and who knows – maybe Intel or someone else out there will create and/or develop an Atom optimized version of the application.

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Netbook screen sizes keep getting larger. First came the 8.9 inch models followed by the now standard 10.1 inch panels.. and soon we’ll all have 11.6 inch panels for our netbook systems. According to DigiTimes, panel manufacturer, Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT), showed off two new panels last week – an 11.6 inch panel for netbook systems and a 13.3 inch panel for CULV notebook systems. More importantly, the company reportedly landed orders from both Samsung and Dell for their 11.6 inch panels which could signal a growth in this netbook form factor . I for one am waiting for the Lenovo S12 netbook to launch.. forget the 11.6 inch and give me a 12 incher!

[Check it out via SlashGear]

IDC is out with some interesting numbers regarding PC shipments and in particular netbook shipments for the year as well as their impact on the overall mobile PC market. First off, some bad news (somewhat) – worldwide PC shipments fell 6.8 percent for the first quarter of this year. Yes that’s bad but it’s also about 1.4% better than previously expected so there’s some good news in there.. right?

What’s going on with  netbooks? As predicted, netbooks are a hot seller with 5.7 million units shipped during the first quarter of 2009. However, IDC claims this number resulted in a reduction of 3.1 million traditional notebooks compared to a year ago.

Those are pure shipment numbers of course – the actual values are even more telling. The shipment of the netbook/mini-notebook PCs was valued at $2.2 billion dollars while the value of traditional notebook shipments declined by approximately $8.4 billion dollars from a year ago. Not surprising when you consider a $300 dollar netbook is probably displacing a purchase of a $700+ notebook system.

Going forward, IDC expects netbook shipments to slow as netbook pricing increases with newer models coming out as well as increased competition from low-cost, thin and light systems based on Intel CULV and AMD Congo processors.

IDC does predict that mini-notebooks will grow to 9.5% of the total PC shipment market (17.3% of total mobile market) this year which will help drive shipment value down by a whopping 17.7%.

Read more over at IDC

This is certainly an exciting time for the netbooks as the industry itself is arguably transforming. As Tim Bajain of PC Magazine notes, more and more companies are working on solutions targeted at the netbook industry – many of which will show up at the upcoming Computex trade show. What does this mean for netbooks and for the average consumer? More innovation; more choices; and hopefully lower prices at the end of the day.

First generation netbooks brought us the concept of inexpensive computing that ran on a familiar platform (Windows XP) that offered just enough performance for the average consumer. As with all things in the computing industry, the industry is morphing and changing and yes.. people are expecting more out of what a netbook can do. As a result, companies are entering into the mix looking to directly address these issues (and complaints).

Case in point – 3D graphics and video performance. People want good quality video playback (and maybe some minor 3D gaming) on their netbook. The solution? NVIDIA introduced the ION platform which combines the Atom processor with an NVIDIA 9400M GPU.  And then last week, HP announced a their new Mini 110 which for the first time offers the optional Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator which supposedly supports full 1080p playback (though ask me who has a 1080p HD display on a netbook).

Next example – battery life. We’re become spoiled from netbooks. Latest systems with six cell batteries offer battery life between 5 to 7 hours – more than enough for a cross country flight. But why stop there? Why not develop systems that eek out even more juice from that six cell? The solution? Newer energy efficient processors that combine the functionality of multiple chips into a single processor die – a.k.a. the System on Chip. Next generation systems based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor or the NVIDIA Tegra processor could usher in new levels of battery performance.

These new processor platforms also brings us to the next brave new world for netbooks – getting consumers used to operating systems OTHER than Windows XP. Next generation low-cost systems will more than likely run some variant of Liunx and offer cool new features such as fast-boot or near-instant on. Intel’s pushing on this front with their Moblin initiative and folks – if you thought a 55 seconds boot for Windows was fast.. how about a 15 second boot under Moblin? And it doesn’t stop there. You’ve got the open source community working on hard on the Ubuntu front with their netbook remix edition and then you have vendors also working on customized versions of Linux (like the HP Mobile internet netbooks).

As Tim notes, this potentially points to a “bifurcation of the netbook market.” On the high end, we’ve got Windows-based systems which are slowly turning into small notebook systems. On the low end of the spectrum, you’ll get netbooks running Linux (or possibly Windows CE) with non-Intel-based processors offering features that are just not possible at this point with standard notebooks. (In fact, Qualcomm wants you to look at these new low-end, power-efficient systems not as netbooks but as a new class of devices called “smartbooks”).

Whatever happens, this is clearly an exciting time for netbooks. The market is evolving as more companies enter into the mix and this all bodes well for the consumer.

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Sorry for the lack of news recently. I’ve been busy of course and I also decided to head off to Vegas this past weekend so I’m trying to catch up now. Hard to blog and keep a full time job sometimes!

In any case, this is NetbookTech so let’s talk a bit about netbooks shall we?

Yes netbooks are inexpensive.. but how cheap can they really get? As it turns out – pretty darn cheap! PC Magazine lists three netbooks that can be had for under $400 dollars right now – even one under $300 dollars. The specific systems are the MSI Wind (around $300 dollars from Buy.com), the Acer Aspire One (around $255 from PC Connection), and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (around $350 from Amazon.com).

You might think these are “old” systems but they are in fact comparable to current netbooks minus the battery performance. If you’re willing to spend a bit more – go for a system with at least a 6 cell battery. Heck, if you’re willing to spend close to $400 dollars you might as well consider the Asus Eee PC 1000HE with its amazing battery life!

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The proliferation of Intel-based (Intel Atom processor + Intel integrated chipset) netbooks has exposed one notable flaw – the inability for these systems to smoothly play back high definition video content. Play some 720p or 1080p content and see what happens to your system – not a lovely sight to behold. As a result, it’s not surprising to see VIA Technologies attempt to address this deficiency with the announcement of a new netbook oriented motherboard reference design – the Surfboard C855. Powering the C855 is a VIA C7-M ULV processor (which quite honestly is a bit of a yawner when compared to the Atom). However what makes the C855 tick when it comes to HD video playback is the new VIA VX855 unified IGP chipset/media system processor. We’re talkin hardware acceleration of video playback!

First off, here are the stated features of the Surfboard C855:

• VX855 is a power efficient integrated all-in-one chipset
• Provides playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video
• Support for internal display resolutions up to 1366 x 768
• Support for external display resolutions up to 1920 x 1440
• VIA Chrome9 HCM IGP for hardware acceleration of video playback including H.264, MPEG-2/4, VC-1, and WMV9
• Low power consumption

The reference design specs are as follows:

• 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV @ 800MHz FSB
• VIA VX855 Media System Processor
• Shared memory architecture – up to 512MB
• One SO-DIMM socket , Support DDRII 667/800, up to 2GB
• supports 2.5 inch SATA HDD or 1.8 inch PATA HDD via ZIF Connector
• VIA Vinyl VT1702S audio codec
• VIA Rhine VT6107 10/100Mb Ethernet
• 0.3 megapixel webcam support
• VIA VT6656, 802.11b/g

No word on when netbooks based on this reference mobo will come out.

If only we could have decent hardware acceleration on the Intel-based netbooks.

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Some excellent news in the “netbook” trademark dispute with Psion Teklogix. According to ComputerWorld.com, Intel has decided to join the fray – asking the court system in a legal filing earlier this month to dismiss the “netbook” trademark owned by Psion. Intel’s point – the term “netbook” is now a generic term used to describe “a new category of small, low-cost laptops that run basic applications”. Intel joins Dell which earlier this month filed a petition to cancel the trademark owned by the UK company.  All I can say is – it’s about time Intel! 

You can also help out with this fight by going to the “Save The Netbooks” Website here.

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