Intel Corp. is launching a branding campaign for a forthcoming family of ultra-small chips, hoping to drive demand for two emerging categories of computing devices. The company will use the name Atom in marketing a new microprocessor line that has two variants. One chip, previously known by the code name Silverthorne, is designed to be the calculating engine for pocket-sized gadgets that Intel calls MIDs, for mobile Internet devices. The other chip to carry the Atom brand, code-named Diamondville, is designed for low-end laptop and desktop computers expected to cost around $250.Intel, of Santa Clara, Calif., also plans to introduce the brand Centrino Atom for a “platform” of technologies for mobile Internet devices, including a Silverthorne chip and a companion Intel chip that includes graphics functions.

The phrase extends the Centrino brand that Intel introduced in 2003 for technology used in laptop computers. The chip measures less than 25mm square and is packed with 47 million transistors. “This is our smallest processor built with the world’s smallest transistors,” said Intel Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney. “This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry.”

Source: Intel, WSJ