Intel Celebrates Atom's 1-Year Anniversary with 2GHz Atom Launch

Intel has just announced the introduction of two new Atom processors, as part of the company’s Atom Z-series, designed for use in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs).The launch of the new processors coincides with the 1-year anniversary of Intel's highly successful Atom processor family, which has been powering almost every low-power portable or desktop computer system currently available on the market. In addition to the launch of the new Atoms, Intel also demonstrated the first live demo of its next-generation Atom-based MID platform, codenamed “Moorestown.”

For 1 year now, Intel's Atom processors have been powering all those low-power computer systems that we have grown to like and which are known as netbooks or nettops. Taking this opportunity, Intel decided to further expand its Atom processor lineup with the introduction of two new models, the Z550 and the Z515, both of which have been designed for MIDs. According to the specifications of the new CPUs, the Z550 extends the performance capabilities of the company's latest Atom processors to 2GHz, setting a new standard as the highest-performance CPU designed with under 3-watt power envelope.

The other new Atom processor, the Z515, has been designed to incorporate Intel's newest Burst Performance Technology, or Intel BPT, for short. According to the chip maker, this technology enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz, when performance is required in the case of small and sleek MID form factors.

Aside from the introduction of the two new Atom processors, Intel's senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, Anand Chandrasekher, demonstrated the first live demo of Moorestown. The platform, which is due for release in 2010, is made out of a System on Chip codenamed “Lincroft,” which integrates a 45nm Atom processor core, graphics, video and memory controller, in addition to an input/output (I/O) hub codenamed “Langwell.” The platform will be powered by a new Moblin software version that will enable MIDs to deliver rich, interactive, PC-like Internet experience.