Intel’s Atom processors all have a few things in common. They’re low power, low cost chips designed for low cost, low power devices. Intel recently rolled out its “Pine Trail” Atom N450 and N470 chips which replace the N270 and N280 processors that had been powering netbooks for much of 2008 and 2009. But Japanese web site PC Watch reports that Intel might also have a new Atom platform code-named “Oak Trail” up its sleeve.
The idea is that Oak Trail would replace the Atom Z5xx series processors found in a handful of mobile devices including the Sony Vaio P mini-laptop and Asus Eee PC T91MT touchscreen tablet. The Z520, Z530 and other Z-series processors tend to use less power than the Intel Atom N-series processors, and have GMA 500 graphics, which offers HD video acceleration, but overall more sluggish performance.
According to PC Watch, Oak Trail chips would consume less energy than Pine Trail processors. But unlike the Intel Atom Moorestown platform which is designed only for tablets and smartphones such as the OpenTablet 7 and LG GW990, Oak Trail chips could power netbooks running Windows.
At least, I think that’s what PC Watch is saying. Google Translate is no substitute for lessons in Japanese.
via Netbook News.de and Heise
How much energy will these processors spare compared to the Z and N series?
Does ist matter if they chips won’t push out more performace? That is the issue Intel is having, they want to you only get very low level perfomace but their bar is BELOW what is needed for an Internet capable device.
If you device doesn’t do flash, if it can’t show video at 30fps then its not internet capable. A ‘net device’ needs to run ‘net content’.
I wonder if this is the Cedar Trail chips which should be coming out by the end of this year. They meet all of the qualifications you’ve described above.
Intel is killing me with all of the tree-based names… Pine Trail, Cedar Trail, Oak Trail…what’s next? Elm Trail and Dogwood Trail?