Hasta La Gadget!

Intel may be looking at bringing its Atom processor to some non-netbook laptops, but it looks like it’s also planning to venture into some slightly more profitable territory, with CNET reporting that the company is on track to release a new Core-architecture processor for ultra-thin laptops later this year. That processor would apparently be priced well above the low-cost Atom, but below the likes of the Core 2 Duo “S” processor used in current ultra-thin laptops like the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy 133. Unfortunately, Intel doesn’t seem to be quite ready to get much more specific than that, with it only saying that the processor could be used in laptops that are less than one inch thick, and that the processor itself would measure just 22 x 22-millimeters. As CNET points out, that pretty much places the processor squarely in competition with AMD’s new Athlon Neo, which is also going after that same, presumably more profitable middle ground.

Filed under: Laptops

Intel reportedly planning new lower-cost processor for ultra-thin laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pegatron has been pretty quiet ever since it split off from ASUS to do ODM stuff all by its lonesome — which is sort of the idea, since Pegatron’s mainly doing the behind-the-scenes manufacturing. We’re glad, however, that the company peeked out of its shell to show off these new Freescale-based netbooks. The Linux-running laptops boast 8.9-inch screens, 8 hour battery life, 8GB of storage and projected retail prices around $199, while the nettop holds similar power in a pico-style form factor. Under the hood is Freescale’s brand new ARM i.MX515 processor, which is a 1GHz chip that’s described as basically being three times faster than the iPhone. The win here is that the chip draws very little power and generates very little heat, allowing Pegatron to squeeze impressive battery life out of a very thin form factor. Freescale is working with Ubuntu to prep an ARM-Linux distro, which will hit in May, and Adobe will have an ARM happy version of Flash 10 sometime this year. Supplementing the processor are chips for DSP, 2D, 3D and 720p acceleration, which switch on and off as needed — we saw the computer in action playing 720p video smoothly while drawing a mere 0.5 watts and not even feeling warm to the touch. The limitation here is obviously straight-up processing power — it’s not very impressive, and certainly slower than Intel’s Atom — but for running an optimized Linux build and surfing the web or watching a vid, Pegatron and Freescale might’ve just found a new portability sweetspot. They’re hoping to have an OEM pick these up around May or June sometime.

Filed under: Laptops

Pegatron and Freescale team for low-power, ultra-cheap netbooks and nettops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, we can’t imagine how this naming convention could be confusing at all, but VIA’s vice president of corporate marketing Richard Brown has stepped forward to clarify things a bit. In short, that Nano 3000 we heard about a few days back will not be dual-core, but the firm is still lining up a dual-core version of its Nano processor in order to totally slay Intel’s Atom in the future. According to Mr. Brown: “The Nano 3000 isn’t dual-core. It’s a different version of the Nano that’s based on a more advanced manufacturing process.” So, the take-home here is that VIA actually has a couple of new chips in the pipeline worth keeping an eye on, and we’re even told that the Q4 release date for the still-elusive dual-core CPU remains solid. CES 2010 sure seems like a swell launching pad, no?

Filed under: Laptops

VIA’s dual-core Nano still on track, but it’s not the Nano 3000 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look out, Intel — the whole world’s gunning for you, with both VIA (possibly, anyway) and now Freescale looking to snag a sliver of the netbook CPU pie. Reportedly, the latter company will be debuting a netbook-centric chip at CES this week from its i.MX line. More specifically, the i.MX515 — which is based on the Cortex-A8 core from ARM — will aim for miniature laptops that sit at or below the almost mythical $199 price point. It’s being reported that Freescale will showcase a Pegatron (ASUS spinoff) built netbook in Vegas, though it’s not clear just yet if similar models will actually be available for purchase in the near future. The real kicker, however, is the potential battery life of machines with this here chip installed — we’re talking up to eight hours, though there’s no indication of what size battery pack would be required to reach that goal. It should be noted that the low-power CPUs won’t support Windows at all, so you’ll only see ’em within machines with Linux-based operating systems.

[Via PC World]

Filed under: Laptops

Freescale’s i.MX515 netbook processor promises low cost, long battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why does Intel have to be so darn stubborn? First it insists on only bundling the Atom processor with their own graphics (simultaneously breaking poor NVIDIA’s heart), and then there’s whole thing where it restricts the CPU to netbooks under 10.2-inches. But like all good things, this too might someday come to an end. According to Gadget Mix, HP is currently negotiating with the chipmaker with the intent of using the processor in notebooks 13-inches and larger. This isn’t without precedent — the Dell Mini 12 is Atom powered, after all, and there is certainly a market for folks who only need a notebook for web browsing and productivity apps — but we’ll see if people are willing to sacrifice performance without gaining portability.

Filed under: Laptops

Intel Atom coming to larger notebooks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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