Intel has made a few Atom-related announcements today at Computex, including a new dual-core netbook Atom, and four other Atom processors. The company said it would ship dual-core Atom processors for netbooks sooner than expected, and they're already in production. New devices with the dual-core netbook chips should be available by this holiday season.
Although the company previously contested that single-core Atoms were sufficient for netbooks, it now believes that the featherweight mobile PCs can benefit from having dual-core processors. "As the web content and the browser content becomes richer, the dual-core will bring a better experience when enjoying rich content or multiple windows," Intel said.
The company also announced four new Atom processors that support DDR3 memory including the single-core N455 and N475 for netbooks, along with the single-core D425 and dual-core D525 for compact desktops. The N-series processors begin shipping today, while the D-series chips will be available starting June 21.
Meanwhile, Intel showed a reference design for a 14mm-thick netbook using a new thermal "technology concept" called Canoe Lake, as well as a Moorestown variant of the Atom dubbed Oak Trail. The platform uses less power and requires only half the physical footprint of existing Atoms, while supporting 1080p playback and operating systems including Windows 7, MeeGo, Android, and Chrome OS.