Intel cracks open Atom-based MID
Intel Atom-based MID cracked open
(Credit: Intel)Intel has posted a video showing the inside of a device using the Atom processor as it rolls out five new Atom chips at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai.
Intel Ultra Mobile guru, Uday Keshavdas, cracked open the back of a mobile Internet device (MID) to show where the Atom processor fits in--literally. (No teardown here. Cracking open the back of the device doesn't qualify.)
The low-cost Atom processor is a technology centerpiece at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai.
Intel Atom processor SKUs
(Credit: Intel Corp.)The chipmaker on Wednesday introduced five new Atom processors and Intel Centrino Atom processor technology for MIDs and embedded computing solutions. The Z500, Z510, Z520, Z530, and Z540 chips draw between 0.65 and 2.4 watts (compared to notebook chips that typically draw between 20 with 35 watts). Speeds range from 800MHz to 1.86GHz, with list prices ranging from $45 to $160.
All Atom chips come with 512K of L2 cache memory and have die sizes of 7.8mm x 3.1mm.
Atom technology includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub, Intel said Wednesday. Device manufacturers are planning to ship MIDs beginning this summer, Intel said.
Atom will find its way into fit-in-your-pocket MIDs from Gigabyte, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Lenovo, and BenQ, among others. Netbooks (inexpensive, Internet-centric ultra-small notebook PCs) such as Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC, MSI's Wind PC, and Clevo will also use the chip.
Atom will also be employed in low-cost desktops called Nettops.
Though some computer makers will opt for Windows, many MIDs, Netbooks, and even Nettops will use the Linux OS.
Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec. 
