Intel to introduce new ultra-thin notebook CPUs
2008 was the year of the Atom processor at Intel, capitalizing on the inexpensive netbook chip. The company may have set their sights even higher this year with a new ultra-thin laptop processor.
The processors, which are due out later this year, will be Core-architecture chips built specifically for use in the newer ultra-thin laptop segment of the marketplace. This news comes from Intel sources at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, as reported by CNET news. So far, Intel chips targeting this market have been very expensive, carrying prices between $1,500 and $3,000.
This new ultra-thin package is reportedly priced lower than these earlier CPU chips but still higher that the price of the current Atom line of processors, which peak at about $500. That would place the price in the same general market area as the new ultra-thin Athlon Neo line of chips, also intended for the new ultra-thin notebook genre, and priced between $700 and $900.
The Intel sources were quoted as saying that the new chip is “going to enable notebooks that are less than one inch (25mm).” Intel’s current Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Core 2 Duo mobile processors, like the SU9300 and SU9400, have a Thermal Design Power (TDP) power envelope of 10 watts, much lower than the standard 25W and 35W Intel mobile Core 2 Duo processors. They also indicated that the new chip is an enhancement of that existing Intel line of (ULV) processors.
The new ultra-thin processors are used to power the newer, sexier laptops which have followed the lead of the Apple MacBook Air. A number of manufacturers, such as Sony and Toshiba, with the Vaio TT and the Portege R600 respectively, have brought out similar slim laptops. Sales of the thinner machines have been held down by the high price of the laptops, partially the result of high CPU prices. These new less expensive ultra-thin processor packages, by both Intel and AMD, will help to put ultra-thin laptops in more consumer hands.
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