IDG News Service - Intel's plan to improve its Atom processor line, including the launch of a dual-core version this quarter, could help sustain demand for mobile products including netbooks.
After close to two years of accelerated growth, the initial euphoria around netbooks is subsiding. According to a study released by IDC on Thursday, Intel's Atom processor for netbooks represented 20% of Intel's mobile PC processor shipments during the first quarter, down from 24% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini recently said that netbooks seemed to be settling in at about 20% of mobile form factors. Otellini was positive about the company's Atom business, saying he expects significant growth in the netbook market this year. Netbooks are priced between $200 to $500 and are designed for Web browsing and basic productivity applications.
Intel is working to innovate on its netbook chips in order to sustain demand, Otellini said. The company will be introducing new chips later this year as it tries to improve the performance of the inexpensive, low-power chips.
Otellini said that Intel was on track to introduce a dual-core Atom processor this quarter. He was vague on details, however, and did not specify whether the upcoming dual-core Atom would be for netbooks or small desktops. Intel already offers dual-core Atoms for entry-level desktops, and a dual-core chip could provide a much-needed speed boost to netbooks, which have been described as underperforming at times.
"The next innovation coming to Atom is on dual-core," Otellini said during a financial earnings call on April 13. Atom chips also go into embedded devices, and in the future, into mobile devices like smartphones.
HP has already advertised a new netbook, the Hewlett-Packard Mini 210 running Intel's upcoming N455 chip, one of the Atom series processors, on Amazon.de. The N455 supports DDR3 memory, an upgrade over the DDR2 memory in most netbooks today. The DDR3-capable processors should allow data to be exchanged faster between the memory and CPU, translating to better overall netbook performance.
"We believe the potential and growth opportunities for Atom continue to be tremendous. You can expect to hear more about this momentum throughout May, and into Computex," said Suzy Ramirez, an Intel spokesperson, in an e-mail on Friday. Computex will be held between June 1 and 5 in Taipei.
Prices of laptops have been falling and the days of netbooks being a novelty have disappeared, said Jay Chou, research analyst at IDC. Laptops are bridging the pricing gap with netbooks, while offering better performance.
"You're getting something really attractive in the $600 range for better-performing notebooks," Chou said.
Users are also looking to do more on PCs than just Web surfing, like multitasking and viewing high-definition movies.
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