It is always the best policy to tell the truth, unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar - Jerome K. Jerome
MOOLY EDEN, Intel vice president and general manager of its mobile platforms group, has told the INQ that Nvidia's Ion platform for netbooks is "overkill" and unnecessary.
Speaking at a Q&A session after an Intel keynote, Eden said he believed in balancing CPU and GPU performance, but argued that Intel's upcoming Pinetrail platform with the firm's next generation Atom processor will have a stronger graphics core, rendering the Ion pointless, not to mention expensive.
Eden also refuted claims that Intel had told Microsoft to limit use of the Windows 7 Starter variant to netbooks with screensizes of 10.1 inches and below, saying "we are not telling Microsoft what to do and even if we did they wouldn't listen."
Eden added that he believes 10 inches is the optimal size for netbooks as it does not stretch a netbook system or impair battery life too much.
As for competition from ARM in the netbook space, Eden said he would not downplay ARM, which he said has "brilliant engineers" and a "great solution", but he maintained that Atom will be three times better than any ARM architecture currently available. µ
And I just saw a flying pig out of my window...
I don't know what others need from a netbook but I need longer life, low weight and *cheap price*.
Don't need 1080p/720p playback when the screen is 8-10", a proper laptop or desktop with a proper screen is for that. Youtube and iPlayer work fine on current Atoms.
Let's see a 10", 6-cell Linux (Moblin, Win 7) for £150-200 not the latest £400 models that miss the whole point.
ARM's savior is Linux (CE anyone?) but for people that want Windows there's no other choice.
Comments like this are laughable, three times better at what?
Consuming power? definitely
And when the multi-core Arm chips come out, there will be a new world of pain for the atom :-D
and Iraqi Information Minister level of misinformation is astounding. Not to mention yet another subtle anti-nvidia jab from the wonderful Inq. The fact is, intel doesn't have good graphics, and nvidia has a better platform, whoopdie doo. What's wrong with providing far more features at the same power consumption level, anyway? More bang for the buck (and size). Intel = fud.
Everyone likes something different about netbooks...my wife loves that it's (Eee) very light...I love the fact I can disable services and lower brightness for 6.5 hours battery life. But I know a person that commutes a lot and likes to watch movies on the train.
Computing is constantly improving...why must we settle for less?
I want a netbook that can run HD movies, play some FPS games, last 5 hours on REGULAR usage AND is cheap.
And really, eventually this will happen, probably by a company that is not worried about hurting its existing product portfolio.
Someone will re-invent the wheel, might as well be you.
He obviously means three times faster which seems about right to me.
If you take a standard ARM Cortex-A8 model like the Freescale i.MX515 or OMAP3, then you are limited to around 1Ghz. Combine that with a lower effective MIPS/Mhz then you get a three times slower cpu.
If you would take a Snapdragon based core or a Marvell Shiva based ARM core then you would get closer to the current Intel Atom (comparable MIPS/Mhz) but still be slower because they are limited to 1.2Ghz.
Later this year, we'll have a faster version of the Snapdragon & Sheva (higher clocks & dual-core) which, IMO, will effectively be as fast as the Atom N270 (maybe even 330). The problem is that later this year also Intel is releasing a new cpu: Pineview. A monolithic dual-core cpu with a IMC which will scale much beter compared to the Atom 330. So i don't see the ARM-camp cathing up in the near future.
ION and Pinetrail do not have the graphics horsepower of AMD's RS780 or RS690 for that matter.
HP and AMD just launched the HP Pavilion dv2, it is a perfect solution which entails lightweight, powerful balanced compute all wrapped up in a beautiful chassis with decent mainstream batterylife...4+hrs
NV and Intel are claiming "All Day Computing", what is that exactly? All day running Mobilemark? Which doesn't even have wireless turned on during the test...
HP Pavilion dv2, I bought it and it rocks!
He said the Atom 'WILL BE', and then compared it to arm architecture 'CURRENTLY AVAILABLE'. I believe him; in the future, Atom will be 3 times faster than ARM is right now. lol.
Quote: "Atom will be three times better than any ARM architecture currently available."
I am waiting for dual core Ion platform.
Intel VP is an ass. That's quite obvious. Possibly when the nm process shrinks there will be more battery life.
What intel proposes is a glorified pad of paper. I can do as much on a pad of paper. Free wifi doesnt exist anymore in NYCity, so what would a netbook that cant run entertainment do for me?
That "overkill" is a complimentary word, and coming from Intel itself, it's even better. Intel seems to forget that the best way to hurt your competition is to not even acknowledge their existence. Oops.
975 core i7 mere 133 Mhz/s core. Maybe low core speed might help netbook? or 2000+outlandish ddr3 speeds, if i7 cpu could handle it, mere: 266 Mhz/s core. Yet, high multiplier makes 975 Stable system.
Only INTEL Makes multipliers in 20-30 range & when it hits those High Numbers, Theres NEW CPU in Wings,awaiting higher core/lower multipliers.& +Tranies To Control That Next Beast.
Net Books & notebooks, indeed laptops, main blessing was Intels devotion to small devices, yet Small Nm Scale might be Only real wattage strength on low scale innards of portable market, that give news reports, NOT actual strength of cpu in Broad applications, as is evolving on Desktop/Workstation/Srver, Today.
Signed:PHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART von DRASHEK M.D.
People do realize that most netbooks do not have the resolution to display HD video, right? So while it's great that you stick in a chip to support HD playback... it effectively gets downsized anyway for the display. Unless you are using the netbook as a Blu-ray player for an external HD display, why would you need HD capability?
I think people are confusing netbooks with I want a cheap laptop that does all the things an expensive notebook does.
It's not about 'settling' for less... its paying less and getting less. The only problem is that some netbook manufacturers are freeloading off the popularity and are charging notebook-like prices.
I think it's funny when people think HD playback on those is meant for the small screen of the netbook itself! haha
I would never trust anyone with the names Mooly or Eden.
The Atom may indeed be 2x-3x better than anything from ARM "currently available", but only because he means "currently in high-volume commercial production".
ARM's processor core architectures are finalized years before they ever find their way to market as they need to be integrated into fully-tested and validated system-on-a-chips.
A modern system-on-a-chip from Qualcomm or T.I. using a (single-core) 1000+Mhz ARM Cortex-A8 is damn fast for the power usage --- about 2000 MIPs and using roughly a quarter of a watt on average.
The raw performance isn't comparable to an Atom, but the power efficiency is 10x better.
The real competition starts when chips like Qualcomm's newest Snapdragon and T.I.'s OMAP4 are ready.
These next-gen chips use the out-of-order, many-core capable ARM Cortex-A9. A dual-core A9 running at 1.0-1.5Ghz should provide performance similar or better to Atom while needing a fraction of the power and die size.
audiguyy - you need to get a clue. You are are in a netbook article posting about a 12" HEAVY notebook with a very HIGH price tag. Basically, the dv2 is 2x the price of an Eee and has less than 1/2 the battery life. As a matter of fact, for the same 'carry weight' of the dv2, I could carry an Eee and 1 or 2 spare batteries. With the standard and spare, I would be looking at ~19 hours of better life compared to your notebook with 4 hours. There is a reason why nobody is buying the dv2 or AMD for that matter in the netbook space - they don't have a competitive product! People buy a netbook for portability and long battery life - it defeats the purpose if you have to carry around your AC adaptor as well.
Not enough of this, not enough of that. If you want a quality ultra portable go get a DV2 or a Sony TZ/Z series laptop. Pay more and get more. If you cant afford it, save and buy quality when you can
To visit a friend and connect my netbook to his tv and playback stolen movies from the internet at 1080p is the final piece this puzzle is missing -
Intel is worried by all the vendors jumping on the ion train at computex.