Intel's Atom Chip

A big splash at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai was the unveiling of Intel's Atom chips and prototypes of devices that will use it. The chips are geared for Netbooks and MIDs, or Mobile Internet Devices, that are smaller than a notebook but bigger than a handheld.

The chips are expected to use between 0.65 watts and 2.4 watts compared with notebook chips that typically draw between 20 watts and 35 watts.

"This is as important to Intel as the launch of the Pentium in the mid-1990s", Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini said in a video played during an IDF keynote speech.