Report: HP, Intel in Talks to Ease Atom Restrictions
HP is reportedly in talks with Intel regarding the restrictions in place on the Atom processor.
The Atom is used in most netbooks on the market, however it is only available for use in netbooks with up to 10.2-inch displays. According to Digitimes, HP is said to be in negotiations with Intel reportedly in hopes to use Intel’s Atom in new mini-note PC models with larger panels.
The news comes at the same time as rumors about an Atom competitor from VIA. The VIA C7-M processor is currently used in HP’s 2133 Mini-Note, which was launched before the copious amounts of Atom netbooks hit shelves.
Digitimes cites sources who say that, in light of competition from netbooks by Asus and Acer, HP's '09 roadmap shows the company hopes to add both 11.6-inch model and a 13.3-inch model to its netbook line. The 11.6-inch is expected in the second quarter of 2009 and the 13.3-inch in June 2009.
We’re all in favor of HP basing its next line of mini-notes on the Atom, but is a 13.3-inch really a netbook? We don’t think Intel will go the for it. However, while we think only the 11.6-inch has a shot, Digitimes sources think HP is likely to obtain consent from Intel. Watch this space for more. Intel is expected to make a decision at the end of January.
Read the full story on Digitimes.
Shame though, Atom would have made a very good processor for laptop for users who doesn't play video games or any CPU intensive application.
Why not just increase the DPI/font size?! Far better than having smeared image due to scaling.
I said that because I do that in my desktop 20" wide LG flatron L204WT. It supports a maximum of 1680x1050, but I use it for long hours and therefore use a very conservative resolution of 1280x768.
And there is absolutely no smearing at all.
I would guess that some people think that LCD's don't perform well in resolutions other than their maximum, but I found out that isn't true. The problem is many people don't adjust the refresh rate.
I have done this experiment with at least four monitors including mine (the others being and LG 22" wide, HP 19" normal and Asus 19" wide), and reached the same conclusion. For example, my monitor only displays 1280x768 correctly at it's maximum refresh rate of 75hz. The predefined 60hz for example won't work (horrible image).
As or the anonymous: I just went to Dell's site and I probably found out the cause for the existence of the Inspiron Mini 12: it does not use the Atom N270. Instead it uses the original Z series, the 1.33 Ghz Z520 ant the 1.6 Ghz Z530 Atoms together with the Poulsbo Chipset.
This chipset has better video capabilities than the 945 chipset and therefore Intel probably allows bigger screens to take advantage of that. And I suspect the chipset may be a little pricier too.
On the downside, the chipset was designed to accomodate only 1GB of Ram, which again, despite the netbook having a bigger screen, its performance won't be able to increase that much because of this limitation. Intel sure knows how to keep it Core 2 Duos safe from the Netbook craze