One of the most successful processor launch for Intel has been the Atom processer launch this year. Almost all the netbook and nettop makers have adopted the single core Atom processor. Intel is now adding a dual-core processor to the lineup; Intel has started to ship dual-core Atom 330 processor aimed at nettop (small profile desktops) market. The new chip has 1.6GHz clock speed, 1MB L2 cache, 667MHz front side bus and 8W power requirement.
Companies like Abaco and Tranquil have already announced systems based on the new processor and other nettop makers should follow the suit. It is also rumored that Intel will launch a netbook version of the chip called N330. But, till Intel launch the netbook version, it is very likely that netbook makers will use the Atom 330 processor in netbooks also. As the processor has just 8 watts power requirements, which is less than one fourth a typical notebook requires and second, it is priced only $40 in quantities of 1,000. You should start seeing the new processor in high-end netbooks very soon.