As everybody knows, Intel renames every code-named underdevelopment product once it is fit for consumer release. And today was no different -- Silverthorn is now the Atom, and Menlow is the Centrino Atom. Both series consist low-power processors designed specifically for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and a new class of simple and affordable Internet-centric computers arriving later this year.

Intel Atom measures less than 25 mm², making it Intel's smallest and lowest power processor yet. Up to 11 Intel Atom processor die -- the tiny slivers of silicon packed with 47 million transistors each -- would fit in an area the size of an American penny. These new chips will be manufactured on Intel's industry-leading 45nm process with hi-k metal gate technology. The chips have a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and scale to 1.8GHz speeds depending on customer need. By comparison, today's mainstream mobile Core 2 Duo processors have a TDP in the 35-watt range.