Intel’s netbook processors seem to all have a few things in common, low power consumption, small size, and are named after trees. And since the successor to the N280 was called the “Pine View” processor it only makes sense for the successor to the Z5xx to be called the “Oak Trail” processor.
The Z520 and Z530 processors weren”t used in as many netbooks as the N270/N280 but they were in a few popular models (11.6″ aspire one, T91MT, Sony Vaio, etc). The Z5xx processor used a little less power than the N280 but was also more sluggish with its 1.3GHz clock speed. One thing it did have going for it was that the integrated GMA 500 graphics could make use of hardware acceleration so playing videos with flash 10.1 wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Well instead of letting the Z5xx series of processor die out it looks like Intel will revive them into the “Oak Trail” series. No word on the exact upgrades to be expected but I’m sure they will be along the lines of the N450/N470 which just got smaller and more power efficient. We’ll keep you updated as more details emerge.
via pcwatch
