Acer, ASUS To Wait for N550?

Dual core netbooks are on their way. ATOM N550 is a processor that is expected to feature in many new machines in the next few months. Asus and Acer both seem interested in taking advantage of this processor, which could explain why they have frozen their new netbook models till mid-August 2010. In essence, netbook makers to see what Intel does with its Celeron processors. Intel has sent mixed messages to manufacturers in the past. If Celeron goes, ATOM processors will have much more room to grow.

Although Intel reportedly plans to phase out Celeron processors and let Atom CPUs taking over the entry-level notebook segment, since Intel still has not yet officially confirmed the rumor, most of the notebook brands are taking a wait-and-observe attitude.

If you are planning to buy a netbook, you may be better off waiting a bit to get your hands on more powerful machines. The prices of the existing models will come down, so it is not a bad time to pick up a netbook as long as you do not have any issues with the current crop of netbooks on the market. Let’s hope netbook makers keep prices though (even though N550 costs a bit more than its older siblings).