Following Intel's announcement of its 32nm “Cedar Trail” N-Series Atoms, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and MSI have all tipped netbook models equipped with the processors. Aiming to revive interest in netbooks via lower power consumption and better graphics, the Acer Aspire One D270, Asus Eee PC Flare, Lenovo Ideapad S110, and MSI Wind U180 all employ Intel's dual-core 1.6GHz Atom N2600 or 1.86GHz N2800 processors.

In the wake of Intel's announcement late last week of its dual-core "Cedar Trail" N2600 and N2800 Atom processors (pictured), a quartet of Cedar Trail netbooks have popped up on the web, with several models available for pre-sale. The formal launches will await next week's CES show in Las Vegas.

Acer Aspire One D270

Back in 2009, Acer announced the first Atom-powered netbook with its Aspire One AOD250-1613. The company has stuck with the format through thick and thin — and lately the market has been very thin indeed. Recent models include an Aspire One 722 netbook announced last April, featuring a dual-core AMD C-50 Fusion processor.

Since Intel's Cedar Trail announcement, Notebook Italia discovered a number of European retailers whose price lists include Acer's Aspire One D270 (or AO270). Acer will likely start selling the 10.1-inch netbook later this month, featuring the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail processor, according to the publication.

The Aspire One D270 ships with Windows 7 Starter Edition, but of course, like all the netbooks mentioned here, it is also capable of running Linux. The netbook will ship with 1GB of RAM and a 320GB hard disk drive (HDD), says Notebook Italia. One Spanish shop had the netbook priced at 250 Euros ($325) for the 3-cell battery model and 269 Euros ($350) for the 6-cell model, the website adds.

Meanwhile, Sundasun offered a few more details, without listing sources. The D270 will offer a 1024 x 600 display, 802.11b/g/n wireless networking, and a multi-card reader, says the story. According to Hot Hardware, meanwhile, the netbook also popped up on the New York City based Adorama website, although we only saw the earlier AOD257 model listed there.

Asus Eee PC Flare

Like Acer, Asus was an early leader in the netbook market with its Eee PC products. Recent entries include last July's low-cost Eee PC R011PX and Eee PC X101, which ship with Ubuntu and MeeGo Linux operating systems, respectively, but are also available with Windows.

Asus Eee PC Flare
Source: Notebook Italia

While those two netbooks were equipped with the 1.66GHz, single core N455, the new Flare models move to one of the dual-core N-Series chips, according to a separate Notebook Italia story. It's unclear whether they offer just the 1.6GHz N2600, the 1.86GHz N2800, or both options.

The Flare is available in two models: a 12-inch Eee PC 1225C model (also available in a 1225B version that instead uses an AMD Fusion processor), as well as a 10-inch Eee PC 1025 model, says the report.

Eee PC Flare keyboard detail
Source: Notebook Italia

Notebook Italia had no more specs to share, but did offer some images, shown above, from which it noted details such as the chiclet style keyboard and various color options. More information is expected to be released at next week's CES show.

Lenovo Ideapad S110

Lenovo has posted a YouTube video of a new N2600-powered Ideapad S110 netbook (see farther below). Meanwhile, ProVantage is now offering the netbook for presale for $321.62, as reported by NewTechnik. ProVantage is selling the S110 206932U model, featuring an Atom N2600 processor, 1GB RAM, 320GB HDD, and Windows 7 Starter.

No other specs were listed, but Lenovo's video mentions some more details, including a thickness of just 16mm (0.63 inches) — not much thicker than some of the tubbier Android tablets. Of course the 1.15 kilogram (2.56 pound) weight is considerably heftier, but is not bad at all for a netbook.

Lenovo Ideapad S110

Other video tidbits include a 98 percent full-size "isle-style" keyboard with curved keys. According to NewTechnik, the netbook features an entirely new chassis design.

The Lenovo video also mentions a USB 3.0 port, Wi-Fi, optional 3G, and optional two-megapixel camera. The video shows the netbook in multiple colors, including red and blue, and notes the presence of an instant-on OS. Lenovo avoids the netbook term and goes back to the tried-and-true "mini-notebook" nomenclature.

Lenovo Ideapad S110 promo video on YouTube
Source: Lenovo
(Click to play)

Previous Lenovo netbooks have included the IdeaPad FL5-B3. In addition, the company has released convertible netbook/tablet designs such as its Atom N450-based IdeaPad S10-3t. Lenovo's Android-based ThinkPad Tablet, meanwhile, features an optional keyboard dock that gives it a netbook feel.

MSI Wind U180

Germany-based Notebook.de has opened pre-orders for an MSI Wind U180-N2813W7S, the only netbook listed here that definitively runs the 1.86GHz N2800 version of the Cedar Trail N-Series. As such, it also offers the faster Intel GMA3650 graphics.

MSI Wind U180

As reported initially in a separate NewTechnik report, the U180 is otherwise much the same as older MSI Wind netbooks. Earlier models included the Atom N280-based Wind U123, and the newer, N450-based Wind U160.

The U180 features a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel display, and is equipped with 1GB of RAM and a 320GB HDD. Other features are said to include a 6-cell battery, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, and Windows 7 Starter. In addition, HDMI is said to be available on some models. The Wind U180 starts at $349 Euros ($454) at Notebook.de.

Background 

Intel's 1.6GHz N2600 and 1.86GHz N2800 are primarily notable for their 32-nanometer fabrication, resulting in lower power consumption, with claimed TDPs of 3.5 Watts and 6.5 Watts respectively. In addition, they are said to offer enhanced Intel GMA graphics, especially with the N2800, which provides a GMA3650 engine as opposed to the N2600's 3600 version.

The Cedar Trail Atoms also include a D-Series aimed at entry-level desktops: the dual-core, 10-Watt Atom D2500 and D2700 models, clocked at 1.86GHz and 2.13GHz, respectively. All the Cedar Trail Atoms are said to include a dedicated media engine enabling 1080p playback of videos and Blu-ray content. Display and output options include HDMI, DisplayPort, eDisplayPort, LVDS, VGA, and dual digital displays, says Intel.

Shenzhen Enzo-Tech's New lunch Intel Atom N2600

In addition to the mainstream commercial offerings listed earlier in this story, some OEM Cedar Trail products have popped onto the web, including Shenzhen Enzo-Tech's 13-inch "New lunch Intel Atom N2600 OEM airbook laptop computer", pictured above. Made-in-China, meanwhile, has posted full specs on a 10.1" Atom N2600 Laptop Computer-Q13 for the OEM market.

---

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.