Intel netbook chip roadmap released

Intel has outlined a roadmap of future chips destined for the increasingly popular low-power 'netbook' range of devices.

According to information obtained by CNet, the chip manufacturer is currently working on a 32-nanometre platform explicitly aimed at netbook devices codenamed Medfield, due to hit the market in 2010.

As well as a die shrink from the 45nm process currently used for the Atom range of processors, Medfield is set to feature integrated multimedia functions and on-chip memory and input-output controllers in order to boost performance while paring down power usage. The chip is expected to be available in both single- and dual-core versions.

If you can't wait until 2010 to get your hands on a next-generation netbook, the company is working on an interim release codenamed Pineview – expected to debut in 2009 as a revision of the current 45nm Atom range, with the possibility of moving to 32nm as production facilities prepare for the release of Medfield at the end of the year.

The report in which all this information was bundled, prepared by financial services firm UBS Securities, predicts that the very concept of a netbook will evolve "from basic webpage consumption to multimedia consumption including high-definition video." With this in mind, Pineview is predicted to utilise Intel's in-house graphics technology, although it's not yet known if this will be integrated directly into the silicon or – more likely – be a discrete chip including as part of the platform.

Would the promise of a next-generation 32nm processor tempt you to a netbook as your next purchase, or is Intel attempting to shoehorn netbooks into the bottom-end laptop market? Share your thoughts over in the forums.