Intel’s Atom processor has gained significant market share especially in both netbook and embedded markets and in order to continue its momentum, the giant chipmaker has recently announced a next generation Moorestown based processor targeted for tablet PC, handheld and even smart phone applications. Named as Z600, it is claimed to be able to handle full HD (High Definition) 1080p media while sustain much lower power consumption as compared to its predecessor like Z-series or N-series Atom families.



Capable of running up to 1.5GHz for smarphones or 1.9GHz maximum clock speed for tablet PC or MID (Mobile Internet device), the processor will be coupled with MP20 hub that is able to extend various industry compliant standard interfaces for external connectivity. Besides, it supports hyper-threading and burst mode to boost processing power as and when it is needed and more importantly, it is expected to have a better GMA600 internal graphics core to handle hardware accelerated video decode for 1080p HD media with OpenGL ES2.0 support for greater visual and multimedia experiences. Surprisingly, all these are well kept in smaller foot print SoC (System-On-Chip) with features being integrated into silicon itself and users can expect a long operation hours of around 4-5 hours battery life for web browsing and video playback, 2 days for normal voice talk and around 10 days of standby time for true mobility.

As expected, the new Z600 Atom processor will be compatible to various Operating Systems ranging from Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux flavors like Android and even MeeGo so it is up to the system integrators and its targeted segments without limitation like what being experienced by ARM solutions.