Manufacturers sceptical of next gen Atom platform

According to Digitimes, netbook manufacturers aren’t rushing to jump on-board the next generation netbook platform from Intel which consists of the Atom N450 processor and the NM10 chipset.

The article seems to mostly focus on so called “white box” manufacturers in China, of which some seem to think the netbook “boom” is over. However, there are other concerns with the new platform and Intel has yet to prove it can deliver graphics drivers for the GMA 500 IGP of the US15W chipset before we’re willing to take the Atom N450 seriously.

As Intel is using more or less the same graphics core as that of the US15W chipset in the Atom N450 processor (it’s the first Atom processor with integrated graphics and memory controller in the CPU packaging), this is still one of the major concerns of the platform.

We have no doubt that Intel will be pushing this platform to all of the netbook manufacturers that are currently using the Atom N270/N280 and the 945GSE chipset, as the updated platform offers some advantages. The main reason for netbook manufacturers to move to the new platform is that it’s a two chip solution, so it takes up less PCB space which has the potential of saving netbook manufacturers money.

Another reason is that the Atom N450 can be passively cooled which means simpler netbook designs and no failing cooling fans. As we don’t know what Intel is planning to charge for the Atom N450/NM10 combination it’s too early to draw conclusions based on overall platform cost.

Digitimes also mentions that a lot of the smaller netbook vendors are looking at what Acer and Asus are doing, so unless the two leaders in terms of netbook shipments don’t get on-board early on in the game, then it’s unlikely that anyone else will.