Dell Nettop

Let us first begin with what nettops are and how they look. In short, they are the smaller versions of the desktops! Well, they are smaller than the desktops but not as small as the mobile phones! These smaller desktops are very much capable of basic computing tasks and consume less power than a regular computer! These abridged versions of the desktops are actually based on or rather they are powered by the Atom processors from Intel. Atom processors are the latest breed of processing units manufactured by Intel. The nettops have all the basic features of a desktop and are best suited for new users.

Targets

These nettops are targeted at an emerging market and have two motives behind them and they are:

• Increasing the mobility of users and
• providing notebooks for the low-price segment

These devices can be used by those who are on the move and can fulfill the bacis internet browsing needs. The most important thing is that these compact mobile devices can be used by children, the first-time internet users and also by those who want an extra PC for running and using basic computing applications, listening to music, accessing emails and surfing the internet. These devices can also be used for social networking, playing some basic online games and also for making voice over IP phone calls.

A talk on processors

Well, the basic unit, the processor, has already made its way to the various forums and news channels and a buzz can be heard about the capabilities of this new comer from the house of Intel.

Atom is a breed of processor that is packed with 47 million transistors and is designed only for the small devices. The processor is also known to consume less power than a general processor used in heavy duty desktops. Intel worked hard to get an entirely new microarchitecture design to achieve this. The major help came from the 45 nanometer technology that helped this to happen.

The success of Atom

The success of the Atom is quite visible and is a hot topic today. Mr. Suryanarayanan, director (sales & marketing, Intel South Asia) used the following words for the gala success of the mini champ Atom:

“When we started work on the 45 nanometer chip, a number of composite parts were mounted on the platform. But the subsequent result was that there was considerable power leakage, which hurdled further development. After a lot of research, a combination of new materials that drastically reduces transistor leakage and increased performance was developed. We replaced the traditionally used silicon-dioxide with a thicker hafnium-based alloy called high-k metal gate, reducing leakage by more than 10 times compared to the silicon-dioxide used for more than four decades.”

As for the information provided by Mr. Suryanarayanan, Intel’s 45nm process technology is capable of increasing the density of the transistor by nearly two times as compared to the earlier generations. This helps the company to either increase the overall count of the transistors or to make smaller processors. The power consumption by the Nettops is also considerably low. Mr. Suryanarayanan was quoted where he says, “because the 45nm transistors are smaller than the previous generation, they take less energy to switch on and off, reducing active switching power by approximately 30%”.

Conclusion

Targeting the rural markets and the first time users, the nettops have actually redefined basic computing and the new parameters are based on far more efficient technology that can be very handy for us in the future. Capable of saving up to 30% of power, the new breed of miniature computers is basically targeted for users in the mature markets and also for a newbie. However, it can also be helpful in maintaining the basic computing needs for a business or for playing and recording data in the stock market. Though, any of the clumsy applications cannot be used on these small computers, we never know what is there in store for us in the future.