Netbooks may have been having a hard time keeping up with all those fancy tablets and smart-phones, but they are about to get a major boost from Intel. Intel’s dual core processor may not be super-fast, but it should help netbook makers get more going for their netbook models. ATOM N550 is a dual core processor (compatible with DDR3 memory) that will make its way to Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, and Lenovo netbooks in the very near future. Acer certainly seems happy with this development:

We are pleased to select dual-core Intel Atom processors for Acer netbooks, helping to empower netbook users achieve even more – both at work and at leisure.

Netbook makers may still end up selling less units that they were hoping for just a year ago. But the netbook experience is going to become richer for netbook fans.