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Billed as the first 4-bay Atom based NAS device, the TS-439 Pro Turbo packs an Intel 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB memory, and support for RAID 0/1/5/6/5. The specs say it supports up to 6TB, 4x 1.5TB drives, but it should probably handle four of the latest 2TB drives without a problem for 8TB of space. Not too shabby in a decent sized box. Other built-in functions include FTP, DDNS, MySQL, XDove, and being able to record from up to 4 IP-based cameras. No word on making this into a torrent machine, but I am sure it would be possible.

Official Site: QNAP

We all knew it was coming, the question has always been ‘When?’ Well Dell answered that question yesterday when it launched the Inspiron Mini 12 in Japan. The United States will see the Mini 12 arrive sometime in November.  The Mini 12 packs a 1.3GHz or 1.6GHz Atom  processor, up to an 80GB drive, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, Wifi, and a 12 inch screen with 1280 x 800 display all within a case measuring a little under one inch and 2.72 pounds. The downside is that 1GB is the max on the RAM, which is a huge disappointment considering the first wave of the Mini 12s will come with Vista Home Basic. The XP and Ubuntu models are to follow late this year, but even those would benefit from having more than 1GB of RAM. The 3 cell battery will provide about three hours of use and there is an optional six cell battery. Overall it looks nice and is basically a bigger brother to the Mini 9. Netbooks have traditionally featured smaller screens from 7 to 10 inches so this bump to 12 inches may mix things up a bit. However, with the 1GB of RAM the functionality is going to be severely limited. The price too is a bit of a stretch with a price of up to $600 when it hits the Dell site next month. A bit spendy and you can definitely find a full featured notebook for less than that.

Full Hands-On: APC Mag

Just about one month after the release of Dell’s 9 inch Intel Atom based netbook, here comes the long awaited 12 inch model. The specs aren’t 100% clear nor is a possible release date, but one thing is clear – it’s here and showcasing Vista a first for the netbook class which features either Windows XP or a Linux distro. A possible release date might come next week to counter what  Apple plans on releasing at their event next Tuesday which is rumored to have a $800 notebook as well as refreshed designs among the entire notebook lineup.

Full Article: Engadget

Beginning this November AMD plans to introduce its Ultra-Value Client (UVC) processors to challenge the Intel Atom. The two chips that will be offered are the single-core Athlon 2650e and the dual-core Athlon X2 3250e. The dual core series currently bests what Intel has to offer unless the future dual core Diamondville uses hyperthreading to present four cores. The power consumption of these new chips will also be lower than Intel’s offerings once you compare the CPU and chipset power consumption. AMD plans to sell the chips to OEMs for low cost desktops and netbooks.

Full Article: Register Hardware

Intel has been talking up its Atom processor since the beginning of the year, and it has clearly described its vision of a future where all of us are connected through a vast network of Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). The 45nm Atom processors Intel has launched to date are the first arrivals in a product series the company intends to scale from handhelds to desktops, but current Atom deployment is still significantly bottlenecked.

The problem isn’t yield or volume. Intel can currently build about 2,500 Atom processors on a single 300mm wafer, and yields are reportedly quite good. Santa Clara’s testing facilities, however, are reportedly saturated at current production levels, and that’s not a problem Intel can quickly resolve. There is always the option of converting test lines that are currently validating other CPU solutions over to Atom, but that simply transfers the backlog from one product family over to another. So far, as Infoworld reports, Intel has chosen to keep the majority of its testing capacity focused on products with significantly higher selling prices.

If the netbook market continues to explode, however, Intel may be forced to convert other testing equipment over to Atom or risk losing design wins. Manufacturers have practically fallen over themselves to introduce new netbooks this year; Asus might have broken the mold with the original EEE, but it’s impossible to swing a dead cat more than six inches without running into a netbook design from MSI, Acer, Gigabyte, Asus, Dell, HP, Everex, and a half-a-dozen other companies.

Although HP is the only Tier 1 manufacturer to declare for VIA’s Nano so far, a continued shortage of Atom chips could lead more manufacturers to consider VIA. Obviously, this isn’t going to vault VIA to some position of dominance, but even modest gains would be big news for the smaller company. There are plenty of netbooks or MID devices Nano isn’t capable of powering, thanks to its overall power consumption, but there are also plenty of higher-end systems where it could find a ready home.

As for AMD, at present, the company simply isn’t focusing on the netbook market. We’ve heard rumors of an AMD-class netbook processor, and Dirk Meyer has promised to announce a new processor in November, but samples of any such chip shouldn’t be expected to pop until mid-2009 at the earliest. Intel’s validation constraints should be lifting by then, assuming the company’s Vietnam facility comes online as scheduled.

Full Article: Ars Technica

This dual core edition of the low power Atom processor is set to be launched September 21st at $43. The Atom 330 clocks in with a 1.6GHz core speed, 533FSB speed and 1MB cache speed. It will use the same BGA 437 socket as the single core Atom.  Hopefully with the dual core boost in performance these will be more viable in low cost desktops instead of the Celeron. The single core Atom is a popular netbook processor. The original release date was in Q3 and a late September launch means that Intel is late on another product this year.

Full Article: Fudzilla