Intel’s MID, netbook, and nettop strategy

Intel is talking up the mobile market at Computex this year, unveiling detailed information on upcoming Atom-based products. We’ve covered what Intel refers to as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) before, but the CPU giant is now detailing plans to introduce products into two new system tiers it refers to as “netbooks” and “nettops.” These new systems will be powered by the Atom N230 and Atom N270 processors. Despite the different nomenclature, these chips are architecturally identical to the Z-series of Atom we’ve previously discussed. The difference between the two series is in the chip packaging—the Z-series package is 13mm x 14mm, while the N-series is 22mm x 22mm.