Intel Atom rival ships; larger Netbooks coming?
Are Netbooks ripe to be resized? Via Technologies thinks so. The Intel-compatible chipmaker says larger Netbooks are on the way. — In an interview, Glenn Henry, the head of Via Technologies subsidiary Centaur Technology …
Context & Ripple Effects
In late 2008 the Netbook category was defined by Intel's Atom, and Via Technologies — through its Centaur subsidiary under Glenn Henry — is challenging that default with its own x86-compatible chip while arguing the category itself will grow beyond its original small screens. The claim landed just before OEMs proved it right: HP's Mini line moved up to 10-inch displays in early 2009, and Intel kept the pressure on with the faster Atom N280.
First-order effects
- Netbook makers gain a second x86 silicon supplier alongside Intel, giving them pricing leverage and a fallback if Atom supply tightens.
- Via's push for larger Netbooks pressures OEMs to blur the line between Netbook and mainstream laptop, chasing higher margins per unit.
Second-order effects
- Intel responds by accelerating the Atom roadmap rather than ceding ground — a cadence of faster and dual-core parts that culminated in the next-generation Atom introduced in early 2010 and Intel's dual-core plans.
- As screens and prices creep upward, AMD repositions with a new ultraportable laptop category, attacking from above while Via attacks from below.
Third-order effects
- The category Via is stretching eventually eats itself: once Netbooks approach mainstream laptop size and price, their cost advantage evaporates — consistent with later analysis that the Netbook market may have already peaked by 2010.
- Sustained competition at the low end of x86 forces Intel to treat sub-$400 laptops as a strategic segment, shaping chip roadmaps around thin margins and volume rather than desktop-style performance.
The trend: This is an early data point in fashionized computing: low-cost device categories steadily inflate in screen size and price until they merge with the mainstream products they were meant to undercut.