14 DAY TRIAL // Late last week there was a rumor that claimed Intel, the world's leading vendor of microprocessors, informed its customers that it had decided to stop accepting orders for its line of low-power Atom Z processors. The rumor continued by stating that several netbook vendors that had already placed their orders would receive said chips, but new orders would not be accepted. On that note, it appears that the rumor has recently reached the ears of the Santa Clara, California-based chips maker, which has immediately rejected the claims.
Speculation initially started due to a news-article on Digitimes citing Taiwan sources that claimed Chipzilla told its OEM customers that it would stop accepting orders for the Atom Z series of processors. These parts were used in a couple of ultraportable netbook systems, like Sony Vaio P, which meant that these systems could soon get a hardware refresh or be phased out of the market.
Picking up the story, the fellows over at Register Hardware have gotten in touch with the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker, which has reportedly denied the aforementioned rumors. An Intel spokeswoman has told Register Hardware that “Rumours of ‘industry sources’ stating that Intel is no longer taking orders for Atom Z processors or ending production by end of year are 100% inaccurate.” The chip maker hasn't made any comments regarding the claim that the discontinued Atom Z-series will help it set a clearer boundary between netbooks and mobile Internet devices.
This is the second time in the recent days that a rumor about the company's product roadmap has been denied by the leading chip maker. Earlier this month, there were rumors (which Intel also denied) according to which its next-generation Pine Trail platform would be delayed until early 2010. We will try to keep you posted as soon as more details emerge.