The largest shopper electronics event of the year is around the area, and by that we of course mean CES 2010. We'll all be there in Vegas scouting out the best of what's new, but you may find yourself asking: after Windows 7 and the launch of Core i7 laptops, what as well is there to look forward to? Plenty, by our measure. Here are the trends we're in the family way to see.
New Atom processors, new Netbooks
The star of the show will likely be Intel's new line of Atom processors for Netbooks. beforehand codenamed Pine Trail, these new CPUs will give the Netbooks platform a routine push, we hope, making these popular laptops even more ever-present. Currently, Netbooks are great for some tasks, but can be frustrating to use if you need them for all-around computing. Look for added graphics and HD video performance in particular.
On a related note, hardware manufacturers will continue to try to "upscale" Netbooks, by adding features such as discrete graphics, touch screens, and HD displays--all in an effort to move prices past the low-margin $299 mark. We'll see increased stratification in Netbooks--a category previously notable for its commodity nature
New Atom processors, new Netbooks
The star of the show will likely be Intel's new line of Atom processors for Netbooks. beforehand codenamed Pine Trail, these new CPUs will give the Netbooks platform a routine push, we hope, making these popular laptops even more ever-present. Currently, Netbooks are great for some tasks, but can be frustrating to use if you need them for all-around computing. Look for added graphics and HD video performance in particular.
On a related note, hardware manufacturers will continue to try to "upscale" Netbooks, by adding features such as discrete graphics, touch screens, and HD displays--all in an effort to move prices past the low-margin $299 mark. We'll see increased stratification in Netbooks--a category previously notable for its commodity nature
