Just days after unveiling its promising new OpenBook subnotebook platform, Via has fired up its PR machine once again to announce another big release from the company: a brand new processor line. On Thursday, Via debuted the Nano, a hyper-efficient processor bound to replace Via’s already efficient C7 processors in subnotebooks, UMPCs, and low-power-usage desktops.
The new 64-bit chips will come in processor speeds ranging from 1.0GHz to 1.8GHz, all with snappy 800Mhz bus speeds. The most efficient model, clocked at 1.0GHz, will consume a maximum of only 5 watts when operating, while Via claims all Nano processors except the fastest should be able to idle with as low as one tenth of a watt. In order to make upgrading to the Nano line easier on manufacturers, it has also been designed for pin-to-pin compatibility with the older C7 processors.
A 65-nanometer manufacturing process has allowed Via to make the processors just 21 mm square, or 0.83 inches on each side. “’Small is Beautiful’ is more than a design strategy; it’s our vision of where the PC market is heading and our new processors will help the market realize that dream,” said Via CEO Wenchi Chen, in a statement.
Although manufacturers will have immediate access to the Nano line, Via does not anticipate Nano-equipped hardware hitting the market until the third quarter of 2008.
