Thin is in. I mean, come on – this is 2010, and if I can’t have my flying cars I at least want to have a computer no thicker than a pack of cards!
Intel knows this, and has been focusing on making Atom based netbooks as thin as possible. The result, shown as Computex, is the Canoe Lake platform. This test-bed (i.e. non-production) netbook created by Intel crams a dual-core Atom processor into a chassis which is just a hair over half an inch thick. The result is a netbook as impressively thin as the Macbook Air which should, once the platform goes into product, cost no more than any other netbook.
Of course, shoulda-woulda-couldas are abound in PC hardware. This is an early test mule and doesn’t necessarily indicate what production models will look like. The biggest problem with a design like this is actually the battery. The Dell Vostro 13, for example, is well under an inch thick. However, it has a battery life of around three hours despite its low-voltage processor because it is simply impossible to fit a large battery into such a small size.
While a super-thin netbook may or may not come into existence, this news is exciting because it is further indication that Intel is taking Atom more seriously. Intel has new Atoms coming later this year and, with Canoe Lake, is showing vendors a concept of how new Atom processors could be used. Perhaps we will finally see some innovation in the recently stagnant netbook market.
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