Filed under: Desktops

With all these nettops, netbooks and plain ole motherboards flying every which-away, it’s hard to say if Portwell’s Atom-based nano-ITX board really is the first, but it’s close enough to count in our book. Utilizing all sorts of legerdemain and black magic, the engineers at Portwell were able to craft a Linux-friendly mobo that measures just 4.72- x 4.72- x 0.65-inches and supports Intel’s Silverthorne Atom while including six USB 2.0 ports, embedded audio and a gigabit Ethernet jack. The Nano-8044 can be ordered in two flavors — the Z530, which packs a 1.6GHz CPU, or the Z510, which clocks in at 1.1GHz. As you could likely guess, this one’s aimed primarily at point-of-sale machines, digital signage devices and other commercial applications, and the sub-10-watt power draw should keep energy costs to a minimum. Oh, and it should totally play Doom in a pinch.

[Via LinuxDevices]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Just as you were getting your head wrapped around Atom-branded Diamondville-class processors based on a Silverthorne architecture, along comes the next generation. Expected to arrive in Q3 of 2009, the new 45-nm Pineview processors will come in hyperthreaded single- and dual-core versions like the current generation Atom 2xx- and 3xx-series. However, the procs will be based on a new Lincroft micro-architecture boasting an integrated graphics core and memory manager that connects to memory via DMI, not a FSB. Unfortunately, the all important TDP power-draw off your tiny netbook’s battery in currently undefined. Hit the read link for the full roadmap and processor timeline if that’s the kind of thing that twirls your propellor.

[Via RegHardware]

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Filed under: Handhelds

Compal’s been a vocal supporter of Intel’s MID followup to the tragic UMPC platform ever since It was announced in April of last year. Hell, the Taiwanese ODM even dedicated a team to crank out all the devices expected in the first half of 2008 but never came thanks in part, to Intel’s Atom slippage. Now Compal looks ready to toss a MID to consumers (either direct or through a third-party manufacturer, it’s not clear) with the unveiling of this handheld at Intel’s IDF in San Francisco. The QWERTY slider packs GPS, a Linux-based OS with media player, browser, eMail and IM clients, and Option’s GlobeTrotter Connect and GTM501 HSPA data kit offering tri-band HSUPA/HSDPA and quad-band GPRS/EDGE connectivity the world-over. No pricing or availability has been announced but we hope to hear more later today.

[Thanks, Stuart L.]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Sweet, and likely salty. That’s VIA’s “special assistant to the president,” Timothy Chen, giving NVIDIA’s Drew Henry, general manager of its MCP business, a little sugar. The moment was captured after the unveiling of the Mini-ITX 2.0 spec at Computex last week. Why? We’re not exactly sure, but we imagine things can get a bit emotional when old enemies join forces against a foe as formidable as Intel. Now give eachother a firm slap on the back, punch to the shoulder, and possibly, if it feels right… a noogie. There’s much to do if NVIDIA’s Tegra and VIA’s Nano are to supplant Intel’s Silverthorne and Diamondville in future MIDs and netbooks, respectively.

[Thanks, Richard L.]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

Intel officially took the wraps off its widely-discussed and readily-implemented Centrino Atom processor / system controller for MIDs last night, and while there aren’t a lot of surprises in spec land, it was nice to finally get an idea of what these suckers will cost:

• Z500 - 800MHz, 0.65W TDP power, 400MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($45)
• Z510 - 1.1GHz, 2W TDP power, 400MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($45)
• Z520 - 1.33GHz, 2W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($65)
• Z530 - 1.6GHz, 2W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($95)
• Z540 - 1.86GHz, 2.4W TDP power, 533MHz FSB, 512K L2 cache ($160)

That’s the pricing per 1,000 units, and is a little bit more than that $30 1.6GHz Atom 230 we were hearing about, but it does include the CPU plus the System Controller Hub with integrated graphics, HD video playback, HD audio and other nifty I/O things like support for WiFi, WiMAX and cellular radios.

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Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Ever since Intel compared the criticality of its (still) forthcoming Silverthorne (which now goes by Atom, if you couldn’t guess) processor to the original Pentium last June, we’ve all wondered just how fantasmical our worlds would become when this thing finally dropped. Now, however, Tom’s Hardware has discovered that the release may actually do more for Intel than we geeks. After consulting a source it believes to be quite credible, it found that the CPU — which will likely sell for upwards of $30 at the low-end — will cost Intel just “$6 to $8, including production, packaging and shipping.” Without busting out the abacus, it’s still fairly easy to see how profitable said chips could be if Intel can move these at even a snail’s pace, but of course, we’d take the dollars and cents estimates with a grain of salt until they actually hit the market.

[Via Digg]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Handhelds

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Laptops

We suppose it was always inevitable, but things are about to get quite interesting at the intersection of cellphone and laptop processors. According to Intel, Apple has apparently committed to using the company’s 45nm Silverthorne chip in multiple products slated for 2008. The chip offers the processing power of second-generation Pentium M processors, with the power consumption of a cellphone chip. Of course, it’s not just the processor. Apple is expected to emerge as a major supporter of Intel’s whole “Menlow” Mobile Internet Device platform, which packages processor, graphics and connectivity into a small enough bundle to give iPhone-powering Samsung a run for its money in ultra mobile products — and Intel has made it clear that it has its sights set on that very member of Apple’s lineup wit. The best news for dreamers that’ve been holding out for a true Newton successor all this time is that the chips provide plenty of juice for a UMPC-type device should Apple choose to go down that path.

[Thanks, Mark]

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