14 DAY TRIAL // Netbooks fell almost as fast as they grew, in reputation, but that doesn't mean that there are no people buying them anymore, and Intel knows it.
Ever since tablets and, more recently, ultrabooks rose in profile, news about netbooks has been scarce, for several reasons.
PC makers have been launching fewer, for one, and the media hasn't exactly shown the same enthusiasm as before either, diverting attention towards the new/popular device types.
It also bears noting that the netbook market had reached maturity when tablets appeared, which means that most people who would have a reason to get a netbook already have one.
In order to maintain this market, Intel is switching gears. Since performance is already about as good as one may expect from a low-end laptop, the chip giant is seeking to offer extra benefits.
The first order of business will be to bring out the Atom 2800 dual-core, with a clock speed of 1.86 GHz and a TDP of 8 watts.
Netbooks powered by it will measure 11.6 or 12.1 inches in diagonal and should get a rugged housing of some sort. The details are sketchy, but at least we know the general idea.
Meanwhile, 10-inch models will use the Cedar Trail Atom N2600, whose TDP is 3.5 Watts. No sort of active cooling will be required for their use, something that the corporation hopes will make up for the smaller, lower-resolution panels.
Right now, Chipzilla is rounding up notebook makers interested in another netbook run. No time frame has been given for the arrival of the devices though, nor the other specifications.
If we were to guess, we're pretty sure an HDD (hard disk drive) of 260 GB or 320 GB will be present, along with 1-2 GB of RAM (random access memory), HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a card reader, a webcam, USB 2.0/3.0, Gigabit LAN, etc. After all, it's hard to find a system of any sort that doesn't have these nowadays.