atom dual-core

Toshiba makes budget Netbook, the NB505

LAS VEGAS--Toshiba makes good Netbooks, but they were never on the affordable side. The Mini NB305 is one of our favorite Atom Netbooks around, but its price hovers higher than perfectly suitable entry-level alternatives from Acer and Asus.

While some manufacturers, such as Asus, seem to be shifting focus away from Netbooks completely, Toshiba appears to be giving it another go with the NB505, a more affordable Netbook that matches its stiffest competition at $299.

Its specs are baseline: Windows 7 Starter OS, 10.1-inch display, 250GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and an unspecified Atom processor that we assume … Read more

Splitting the Atom: Acer Aspire One goes dual-core

Netbooks don't change very much in terms of specs, at least compared with other laptops, but there has been one new wrinkle as of late: dual-core Atom CPUs.

Acer's 10.1-inch Acer Aspire AOD255 Netbook includes a new dual-core Atom N550 CPU for a very reasonable $329, along with 1GB of DDR3 RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Starter. A single-core AOD255 will still be sold as well, starting at $269. It comes in four colors--red, black, brown, and aquamarine--and will go on sale later this month.

Acer has a line of "premium" Netbooks … Read more

In-betweeners: Rounding up ultraportable 11.6-inch laptops

Bigger than a standard 10-inch Netbook, but still less powerful and less expensive than even budget-minded midsize systems, 11.6-inch laptops sit somewhat awkwardly between categories. Some call them premium Netbooks, others tag them as ultraportable systems. In general, they're what you get when you take a standard 10-inch Netbook and make it a little bigger, a little more powerful, and a little more expensive.

The timing for the current explosion of 11.6-inch systems couldn't be better, as the Netbook genre was starting to feel a little dated. That's mostly the fault of Netbook manufacturers, who … Read more

QNAP debuts Atom dual-core-based NAS servers

LAS VEGAS--Less than a month after Intel launched its redesigned Atom processor, the Atom D-510 dual-core, QNAP is now the first vendor to introduce new NAS servers powered by the new Intel chip.

The company showed off at CES four new high-performance Turbo NAS servers: the TS-259 Pro, TS-459 Pro, TS-659 Pro, and TS-859 Pro, which is a QNAP exclusive as it's the only eight-bay server on the market.

According to Richard Lee, QNAP CEO and president, all of these NAS servers have been certified as compatible with VMware's vSphere4 (ESX 4.0) virtualization platform and are designed … Read more

Intel to deliver dual-core Atom chip next month

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel plans to bring its first dual-core Atom to market next month, it was revealed here Monday during the Intel Developer Forum. The chipmaker also disclosed more details of the Nehalem processor.

The power-efficient processor will be targeted at Atom-based desktops called nettops. Currently, Intel offers the Atom N230 processor for nettops. This chip has a slightly higher power envelope than the Atom processors built exclusively for mobile devices.

That news was revealed to this reporter by an Intel employee as senior vice president Pat Gelsinger was delivering his IDF keynote, which included more specifics about Nehalem, the family … Read more