Intel Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a new processor it says will revolutionize the information technology industry by powering small laptops at low cost.Intel Asia Pacific Vice president and General Manager Navin Shenoy said the Atom processor will enable millions more people around the world to access the Internet. Shenoy's announcement at a Taiwan computer show raises the stakes in Intel's efforts to best rivals like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Via Technologies in supplying chips for cheap laptops.

A version of the Atom can be used in mobile devices — iPhone-like tablets that provide a fuller Internet experience than cell phones do.

But its key territory is what the company calls "netbooks" — cheap notebook alternatives that are smaller and have fewer functions than standard laptops but also use far less power and are easier to carry around.



Several new laptops priced at less than $500 fall in this category.

"The devices are being designed to bring the power of the Internet to almost everyone," Shenoy said.

Shenoy said that the Atom breaks with the Intel tradition of making faster and faster chips, which have an inherently higher cost.

By contrast, he said, the low-power Atom is relatively cheap to produce and exceptionally small, with 2,500 of the chips — each containing 47 million transistors — fitting on one 12-inch wafer.

That's the equivalent of squeezing 11 of the devices onto a penny.

"Intel has always been about faster, faster and faster chips," Shenoy said. "But we want to innovate in a new direction this time, very low power, very small size, and, yes, very low cost."

Retired information technology analyst In Wei-yee, formerly of UBS AG in New York, called the Atom's launch "very significant."

"They're trying to address a large market that needs low-cost solutions," he said. "The idea is to get beyond current bottlenecks."

Taiwan's AsusTek has had a hit in the netbook category with its eeePC, which starts at $300 and uses an Intel chip. Other manufacturers, like Hewlett-Packard Co., are entering the market segment, too, though HP is using a chip from Via Technologies Inc.

Intel Asia Pacific's director for advanced technical sales and services, Stanley Huang, said the company is struggling to meet demand for the new processor.

"Demand is very high," he said. "It's a problem but it's a good problem to have."

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