VIA prepares for C7 launch next year

According to this report, VIA's next-generation microprocessor family will be called C7 and is expected to become available during the first half of 2005.

The VIA C7 processor will target low power desktop PCs and Personal Electronics systems such as PVRs and IP set top boxes, while the VIA C7-M processor will target mainstream slim and light notebook and Tablet PCs with its market leading power efficiency and advanced PowerSaver 4.0 technology.

VIA C7 and C7-M chips will be produced using IBM's 90nm process, which should give room for considerable performance improvements over C3 CPUs while maintaining a similar, low power consumption.