Twenty-five notebook models based on Intel's Atom processor will ship by mid-year, an Intel executive reportedly told a PC World reporter. The Atom-based notebooks will cost $250 to $300, sport 7-10 inch displays, and run either Linux or Windows XP, the executive reportedly… said.

(Click for larger view of the Atom die litho)

The article quoted Navin Shenoy, GM of Intel's Asia-Pacific operations, who reportedly said that some models will double as tablet computers, with swivel screens that can turn and lay flat against the keyboard. Others will be ruggedized for the developing-country market. Shenoy was also quoted as saying that some of the models would have hard drives while others would have flash-based solid-state drives, enabling battery life ranging from three to five hours. Many of the notebooks will have WiFi capability, according to the report.

The article also quoted Shenoy as saying the laptops will run Linux and/or Windows XP, despite the fact that Microsoft has stated that it will not sell XP licenses after June 30th. “I don't think you'll see a lot of Vista in this space for cost reasons,” Shenoy was reported to have said.

Intel formally announced its next-generation mobile device chips products, Atom and Centrino Atom, on March 3rd. The Atom processor family comprises small-package models formerly codenamed “Silverlight” and aimed at mobile devices such as phones, as well as larger-package models formerly code-named “Diamondville” aimed at low-cost, energy-efficient notebooks and thin clients. Both variants use a new x86-compatible micro-architecture with an in-order pipeline, similar to ARM.

Built on 45 nanometer process technology and using “High-K” metal gate transistor technologies, the first Atom processors will fit onto a 25mm by 25mm die, and will use a tenth of the power drawn by Core2 Duo “ULV” chips, Intel says, while scaling to 1.8GHz speeds. Performance is expected to fall well under similarly clocked Core2 chips, however, due to the use of a micro-architecture optimized for power efficiency rather than performance.

It is likely that the Atom will reach the market only as part of the Intel Centrino Atom chipset, which combines the CPU with a “Poulsbo” companion chip that integrates northbridge and southbridge. The Centrino Atom chipset can optionally include WiFi, WiMax, and other peripheral chips, and will provide an option for a penny-sized, 16GB solid state disk.

The PC World article, by Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service, is entitled “Atom-Based Notebooks Carry Budget Price Tags,”and is available here. Also this week, the EETimes published an informative story comparing the Atom with ARM's Cortex-A8, arguably its biggest competitor in the embedded device space.

 
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