The category of netbooks, often described as underpowered, got a performance boost Monday as Intel announced that a dozen new netbooks based on its mobile dual-core Atom processors are shipping. The chipmaker said the netbooks, from such manufacturers as Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, Lenovo, LG, Samsung and Toshiba, offer “new levels of support” for games and Flash-based multimedia sites such as YouTube, Hulu and online hotel booking systems.
The dual-core, 1.5-GHz Atom N550 is available in the same form factor as its predecessor, the single-core Atom N450; uses the same graphic chipset; and offers the same thinness, lightness and battery life. The new netbooks are designed to handle 720p high-definition video and DDR3 memory.
‘A Great Market’
Erik Reid, director of marketing for online platforms at Intel, said about 70 million single-core Atom-based netbooks have been shipped since the category began in 2008. “There is obviously a great market for these devices around the world,” he said.
The new dual-core Atom is based on Intel’s Pinetrail platform and has two physical cores with two threads per core. According to news reports, some manufacturers are touting a performance improvement of up to 20 percent over the single-core versions.
Netbooks have been a hot category, offering low-cost mobile computers with smaller screens, keyboards, overall specifications, and prices. The targeted uses for netbooks have included web surfing, e-mailing and basic word processing, but their limited abilities have kept them from becoming popular as productivity tools.
Netbooks are also now facing the newer category of tablets, currently dominated by the highly popular iPad from Apple. ASUS, which has been successful in netbooks, plans to release an Android-based tablet with a 10-inch screen next March, priced below $400. This compares favorably to the iPad’s starting price of $499, as well as with many netbook prices.
Upcoming AMD Chip
But while…