What is Turbo Core? It is a pretty exciting technology for dual core machines that let their users take more out of their cores. When a program is only using one core, the other core can be overclocked to offer better computing performance. Marcel broke the story on C-60 though we are not sure when these will be making their debut in netbooks.

Credit: Netbook Planet

It seems Acer will be finally recycling its Aspire One 522 product line. The new Aspire One netbook will take advantage of an AMD Brazos platform dual-core processor and DirectX 11 ready AMD Radeon HD graphics. The AMD Fusion C-50 is a processor based on Bobcat architecture. The AMD Radeon HD 6250 should make it more convenient for netbook owners to get a rich computing experience on the go.

Here are the Aspire One 522 specifications:

• AMD Fusion C-50 Dual Core Processor
• Radeon HD 6250 Graphics
• 10.1 inch (1280 x 720) screen
• HDMI port
• 6 hours of battery life

This new Acer Aspire will be making their debut in early 2011. There is no information on how it will cost.

AMD processors may not outperform Intel ones across the board, but they are still very capable and can save consumers a lot of money. AMD processors are available in a couple of netbooks, but the company is yet to commit to tablet and netbook markets. At least not until now. AMD has just announced AMD Zacate, a low power processor that is a direct challenger to Intel’s ATOM line. AMD Zacate not only consumes less power, it comes with integrated graphics and can outperform Intel’s graphics.

AMD’s processors should be in demand in the netbook market. They can let netbook makers to reduce their costs and offer more bang for buck to their customers. The new AMD processors are low power and are expect to perform decently on tablets and netbooks. Let’s hope AMD focuses more on these tiny devices.

In case you have been following the netbook market for a while, you have probably realized that the majority of units on the market take advantage of Intel processors. AMD does make decent processors, but the company was not too sure about the netbook market just about a year ago. That is about to change as AMD processors are expected to grace many netbooks in 2011 and beyond. AMD may not have the “fastest” processors, but its products do have certain advantages over Intel ones. Besides, they are often cheaper, giving consumers more bang for their buck.

We have known for quite some time that AMD Ontario chips will start shipping by the end of 2010. That would mean the earliest we can get our hands on netbooks using those chips will be in 2011. The CES event in 2011 will surely include a few of these AMD netbooks. According to DigiTimes, these chips seem to be in demand already:

Acer, Asustek Computer and Hewlett-Packard (HP) all plan to use AMD’s Ontario APUs (CPUs that feature an integrated GPU) for their new netbook and ultra-thin notebooks…low power consumption, heat generation and price, plus strong CPU and graphics performance has already attracted several notebook players to place orders.

There is no question that Intel is the market leader in this space. While AMD may not start dominating it, it can make a splash in the netbook and slim laptop markets. Can these chips deliver an impressive battery life to netbooks? We will have to wait to find out.

Credit: Engadget

Another ASUS netbook has been spotted, this time at Computex. ASUS Eee 1015T netbook takes advantage of an AMD processor (AMD V105, according to Engadget). ASUS is known for having some of the most interesting netbooks on the market. This one is no different though we’d prefer to have more details on it.

Here is what we do know about this netbook (video after break):

• AMD V105 processor
• ATI Radeon HD 4200 series GPU
• up to 4GB of DDR3 memory
• up to 500 GB HDD
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3
• 10.1 inch Glossy Display (1,024 x 600)

I suppose the screen resolution could be better. We still don’t know how long this device lasts per charge. This netbook has a lot going for it though. It’d be interesting to see how it will be priced.

AMD has been battling Intel for years now. The company may not have the upper hand against Intel in most cases, but it does make powerful CPUs and has a decent following going. From time to time, the chip maker comes up with solutions that can hold up their own against Intel products. The company was first skeptic about the netbook market, but in the past few months we have seen the company enter the netbook and CULV markets. The company’s plan to bring more Fusion CPUs to the market shows the company’s dedication to stepping up its efforts in the netbook market.

AMD’s Fusion CPUs will come with integrated ATI processors. That means you won’t have to pick up Nvidia ION to get decent performance from your netbook on the go. AMD will be using its next generation netbook processors to go after netbooks of 12 inch size and less. These processors won’t be out in netbooks anytime soon. Until then, you can rely on AMD Athlon X2 (used in MSI U230-040US) to get the job done.

For a couple of years, we have seen Intel dominate the netbook market with its ATOM processors. These processors are certainly very capable and the new models are speedy as well. But as a consumer, you always want to see companies compete with each other, so you can win. Intel has gone somewhat unchallenged in the netbook market, but ARM netbooks are on their way. And who can forget about the new AMD netbooks that are taking the market by storm.

MSI U210-008US 12.1 Netbook is one of the new AMD netbook models that is not only as powerful as its Intel-based rivals, but it’s also rich in features. Unlike most of its rivals, it comes with a 2 GB of ram, AMD Radeon X1250 graphics, and Windows Vista. The device is more than capable of displaying HD videos, and with the HDMI port on this device, you’ve got even more options when it comes to HD connectivity. The device does come with 5 hours of battery life, which is not bad. The device can support Windows 7, so you can always upgrade if you are tired of Vista.

My hunch is that we will see even more Athlon netbooks in the near future. Athlon Neo MV-40 is a decent processor for now, but as Intel introduces more powerful ATOM processors, it’s only fair to assume that AMD will upgrade these CPUs as well. The difference in performance may be negligible to most people, but it’s still good to have options.

We have been hearing a lot about how AMD is not interested in the netbook market. The company actually has a smart plan. A lot of experts have talked about how netbooks are not for everyone, and the profit margins are not that great for laptop manufacturers. That’s why you can see a company such as Apple have such high profit margins, even though it’s not selling as many Macbooks as other companies are doing Windows laptops. If you remember, AMD counted itself out of the netbook market just a few months ago and instead stated its intention to dominate the CULV market. But things seem to have changed for AMD as it now tries to go head to head with Intel in this market segment as well. But it’s a bit hypocritical to talk about entering the market and then bashing it the very next day.

I think it’s fair to takeaway that price is driving the growth of the ultra-thin vs. the netbook segment, with those willing to pay for it getting more for their money in the form of an ultra-thin notebook, and those unwilling to getting a netbook’s more limited functionality instead.

It’d be interesting to see how AMD netbooks stack up with Intel ones in the future, but AMD is clearly too stretched to compete effectively in the netbook market. And the fact that the company doesn’t even seem dedicated enough to the cause means that it may have a better chance of succeeding in the CULV market than the netbook business. It’s good to have options when it comes to netbooks, but can an AMD netbook change the game? I doubt it.

AMD may not be as famous as Intel, but it can certainly make powerful CPUs. It has gone back and forth with Intel and has grabbed itself a decent market-share. But when it comes to netbooks, AMD has decided to stay away due to low profit margins. AMD simply doesn’t have the resources of Intel, which means it has to pick and choose which markets it enters to and how it positions its products more carefully. This could all change with Acer bringing its AMD netbook to the market. Gateway LT3103u netbook which uses AMD Athlon 64 L110 processor is the first AMD netbook, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Many experts are surprised by AMD CPUs being introduced to the netbook market, but AMD has the technology, and it was just the matter of time. Even though AMD argues that it is only interested in the upper end of netbook market, as long as AMD comes up with low voltage CPUs, there are going to be people interested in the technology. AMD doesn’t care where its CPUs are used. At least not at this point of time anyway. But if you are hoping for AMD to come up with a netbook-exclusive CPU, you are out of luck.

Netbooks are more about portability and energy efficiency than speed. Even ATOM N280 is not that fast of a CPU. But it’s not an energy hog, so you can get crazy long hours with your battery. I doubt people care too much about what’s used in their netbooks as long as they can rely on their device to produce and consume content for/on the Internet. Who knows. Depending on its success in the netbook market, AMD might change its approach to this market.

With netbook, the primary purchase driver we believe is price, followed by mobility. With ultra-thin, we see the primary purchase driver being mobility followed by entertainment/visual experience.