The netbook market what it is today (growing, in case you’ve spent all of 2008 under a rock at the bottom of a very deep lake), it’s no real surprise to hear chip companies are working on ways to grab some of the market share currently dominated by Intel’s Atom processor.

With new mobile processors already on the way from the likes of AMD, it looks like VIA is all set to release its own dual core targeted toward netbooks. VIA was no doubt feeling a little left out in the cold when the netbook processor market was ripped out from underneath it by Intel’s Atom; and CNet reports (citing Chinese site HKEPC) that VIA is working on a low power, dual-core Nano 3000 processor which is expected around the end of 2009 or 2010.

Looking at the volume of netbooks on the market, we’re pleased to see a little competition for Intel. The Atom is ever present on the netbook scene giving Intel the clear victory at the moment. A bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone.

For the demanding road warrior, Intel made headlines at the beginning of the week with the launch of its low cost, quad core mobile processor, the Q9000, and four other dual core mobile processors. Check out the full story on the Q9000 here and hit CNet or HKEPC for more details on VIA’s Nano 3000.

Source : Tom's Hardware US