Intel has officially launched its Atom series processors for low-power consumption, low-cost PCs designed to give users access to the Internet anywhere.
According to Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager, Intel Asia Pacific, Atom-based notebooks (netbooks) and desktops (nettops) have opportunities in emerging markets as affordable devices for first-time PC users, and in mature markets as a second home PC, in particular for children.
Two platforms were officially unveiled today, the Atom N270 CPU and mobile 945GSE and ICH7M chipsets for netbooks, and the N230 CPU and 945GC and ICH7 chipsets for nettops. Both platforms offer CPU speeds up to 1.6GHz, 533MHz DDR2, PCI Express, USB and Intel HD audio.
Atom-based products have been announced by most of Taiwan's top notebook and motherboard brands, including the new 8.9-inch Eee PC 901, 10-inch 1000 and Eee Box from Asustek, the Wind PC series from Micro-Star International (MSI) which includes netbook, nettop and motherboards, and the M912X netbook from Gigabyte, featuring a touch screen.
According to Shenoy, 90% of the Atom-based devices currently announced are designed by Taiwan-based companies. Intel expects to have shipped 100 million Atom units by 2011.