Although VIA is playing less and less the role of chipset manufacturer (you may remember at one point they were quite dominant), they seem to be focusing on mobility and small form factor efficiency with its latest product releases. The C7 processor is currently being used in a number of small form laptops like the Everex CloudBook and the OQO Model 02. And now they have begun shipping samples of their new x86 chips based on the Isaiah architecture. VIA claims Isaiah chips are two to four times faster than the C7s, and will consume no more than 3.5 watts.

Although Isaiah was built from the ground up, VIA has made the chips pin-compatible with the previous C7 family, which could ease their adoption. That said, the company better play its cards right if they want to stay in market considering that's no other than Intel who now joined the low-power leagues and is about to push its Atom platform pretty aggressively later this year.