Intel touts dual-core Atom
Chipmaker Intel says dual-core Atom-based netbooks are coming. The company last week showed off a demonstration model of a netbook running a dual-core Atom processor at its investor meeting. The company is also expected to show off a range of netbooks and tablets running dual-core Atoms at the Computex show in early June.
The new dual-core Atom processors come at a time when Intel is facing one of the strongest assaults against its dominance. The main challenger this time are ARM processors. ARM processors have largely been used to date in mobile phones but increasingly they are appearing in a growing number of netbooks and smartbooks.
Their suitability to ultra-compact designs have made them popular with a number of netbook makers, in particular mobile phone makers such as Nokia looking to branch out into the tablet and netbook market.
Confidence in the ARM architecture is so strong that some analysts have predicted that by 2012 ARM-based netbooks will be outselling Atom-based ones.
Intel’s dual-core Atom, however, may put a spanner in the works for ARM. To date netbooks running Intel’s Atom have largely been criticised for their poor performance, particularly when it comes to graphics-intensive applications. Early adopters of netbooks mostly accepted this as the trade-off for the significantly smaller price tag attached to their netbook.
However, as the netbook and smartbook market evolved users have become more demanding of their hardware.
Bigger screen
Alongside the dual-core Atom processors it now also looks certain that Intel will open the way for Atom-based processors to be used in devices with larger screen sizes. To date Intel has restricted the use of Atom processors in machines with a screen size larger than 10.2 inches. Now, however, it looks that Intel will lift that restriction.
With a new stream of ARM-based netbooks from the likes of Lenovo heading out to consumers, Intel can’t afford to keep in place a restriction that would undermine its growth. Particularly as ARM doesn’t have the same limitations.
The new N550 dual-core Atom processors could then start appearing in machines with 11.6 and 12.1-inch displays from as early as next month.
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