Intels future plan

While the Atom processor core used in Pineview remains largely the same as current Atom chips, Intel has made refinements to the design that further lower its already miserly power consumption, said Belliappa Kuttanna, the principal architect of Intel's Atom architecture, in an interview.

The upcoming Atom processor also includes an integrated memory controller with direct links to main memory to improve system performance.

"Now that we're in an SOC environment, we have opportunities for more efficient power management of the subsystems within the SOC, like graphics, display, etc., that involve some CPU interaction, so we went ahead and added those types of mechanisms to Lincroft," he said.

The latest Intel disclosures increase the pressure on AMD, which plans to detail its own product road map for low-cost laptops at an analyst conference to be held on Nov. 13. AMD is planning to add graphics capabilities to a range of processors as part of its Fusion chip family starting in 2009, and such capabilities will likely be added to chips intended to compete with Atom.

Intel has also said it plans to integrate graphics capabilities with some models in its Nehalem processor family, with these chips expected to hit the market during late 2009 or early 2010. The first versions of Nehalem, a series of desktop chips due to arrive next month, will not include graphics capabilities.

Kuttanna didn't detail the graphics technology used with Pineview, saying only that it's not the same integrated graphics processor, the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD, used with the company's G45 Express chip set. Pineview will also include a hardware decoder for high-definition video, he said.

Graphics and video performance are two areas where the current Atom lineup is considered weak. But graphics is not Intel's strength, particularly when stacked against the cutting-edge technology of AMD's ATI division.