Part II - The Intel Atom Processor

Ever since Intel launched the Atom CPU a little over two years ago, this little processor has totally dominated the ultra-portable computing segment. Netbooks are now commonplace and thanks to its low price point, even those from the lower income groups can now afford to experience computing and the Internet. Of course, Intel isn’t going to leave things as they are; the company has great plans for the Atom and the product’s roadmap is very exciting indeed.

Atom Gets Dual-Core Treatment
Up till now, Atom processors found in Netbooks have been of the single-core variety, although a number of entry-level desktops have had dual-core ones. With the launch of the Pine Trail platform, this is set to change and Netbooks will finally get the power boost that users have been clamouring for. The new “Pine View” dual core Atoms will also start to support DDR3 towards the latter part of 2010.

The trend of integrating graphics and memory controllers onto the CPU die will also see more efficient power consumption coming to the Atom and this will make Netbooks even more desirable. However, that’s not the whole story; the new Pine Trail platform has tighter integration and its silicon uses less space. This allows for smaller and sleeker designs. To give vendors and ODMs a push in the right direction, Intel unveiled the Canoe Lake platform, which I’ll talk about next.

“Canoe Lake” – Bulimic Netbooks
One of the design flaws (if I may call it that) of Netbooks is the form factor; they might be small and light, but current designs are rather thick. As a result, they don’t fit very well into backpacks or messenger bags which are very popular nowadays. Super thin designs have been around for some time now and Apple’s MacBook Air pretty much set the standard. Dell’s XPS Adamo upped the ante, but this 9.99mm thick (thin?) notebook only had a 2-hour plus battery life, which is rather pathetic.


So, Intel came up with the Canoe Lake prototype which measures around 14mm at its thickest point. This ultra-thin Netbook can accommodate either single or dual core Atoms and will boast typical Netbook battery life (probably more than 5 hours). In addition, its special thermal design allows it to run cooler than other Netbooks, so that users won’t find it uncomfortable to hold or put on their laps. Unfortunately, Canoe Lake is only a reference design; it is entirely up to vendors and ODMs to come up with their own products.

Oak Trail Unveiled
As Apple launched its iPad to frenzied fans who snapped up more than a million units of the long-awaited tablet in less than a month, Intel too has been eyeing this ‘new’ market. Thanks to advancements within the Atom platform, Intel has been able to introduce Oak Trail, which is specifically optimized for such devices. Compared to the vanilla Atom-based systems, Oak Trail will offer power savings of around 50%, which is crucial for tablets. In addition, its ability to handle Full HD video playback will be a huge boon as this turns the tablet into a very compelling multimedia device. And to top it all off, vendors can use a wide variety of operating systems, from Windows to MeeGo and not forgetting Google’s Android or Chrome OS.


Smart(er) TV for Living Rooms
The poor television has been made scapegoat for too many of our weaknesses; the “idiot box” has been blamed for everything from degenerative brain diseases to obesity and even sexual violence. Well, it’s high time we made our TVs smart and Intel’s new Atom CE4100 will do just that. Rather than bombarding us endlessly with moving images and sound, users will be able to use the TV to consume Internet and personal content, as well as watch traditional TV broadcasts, of course. The chip’s compute capability promises to transform the TV experience and make it smart. Literally.