Atom Z-Series Rumors, '100% Inaccurate' Intel Says

Late last week there was a rumor that claimed Intel, the world's leading vendor of microprocessors, informed its customers that it had decided to stop accepting orders for its line of low-power Atom Z processors. The rumor continued by stating that several netbook vendors that had already placed their orders would receive said chips, but new orders would not be accepted. On that note, it appears that the rumor has recently

reached the ears of the Santa Clara, California-based chips maker, which has immediately rejected the claims.

Speculation initially started due to a news-article on Digitimes citing Taiwan sources that claimed Chipzilla told its OEM customers that it would stop accepting orders for the Atom Z series of processors. These parts were used in a couple of ultraportable netbook systems, like Sony Vaio P, which meant that these systems could soon get a hardware refresh or be phased out of the market.

Picking up the story, the fellows over at Register Hardware have gotten in touch with the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker, which has reportedly denied the aforementioned rumors. An Intel spokeswoman has told Register Hardware that “Rumours of ‘industry sources’ stating that Intel is no longer taking orders for Atom Z processors or ending production by end of year are 100% inaccurate.” The chip maker hasn't made any comments regarding the claim that the discontinued Atom Z-series will help it set a clearer boundary between netbooks and mobile Internet devices.

This is the second time in the recent days that a rumor about the company's product roadmap has been denied by the leading chip maker. Earlier this month, there were rumors (which Intel also denied) according to which its next-generation Pine Trail platform would be delayed until early 2010. We will try to keep you posted as soon as more details emerge.

Intel Reportedly Suspends Atom Z Series

Santa Clara, California-based Intel is said to have informed its customers that it will no longer accept orders for its Atom Z processors from netbook makers. The world's leading chip maker is said to be preparing to free its inventory of said parts, according to industry sources. Although these are currently rumors, it looks like the company wants to better distinguish the line between netbook processors and MID processors, as it prepares to launch its next-generation MID and netbook platforms, codenamed

Moorestown and Pine Trail, respectively.

According to a recent news-article on Digitimes, citing the never-restless industry sources, Intel has told its customers that it will no longer accept orders for its line of Atom Z processors. The company is expected to completely stop the supply of said chips to the netbook market, before the end of this year. The move, according to Digitimes sources, is justified by the chip maker's attempt to better define the line between CPUs targeting netbooks and those that are designed for Mobile Internet Devices. This will allow Intel to better position its products for two of the most active segments in the PC market.

The company will continue to ship the low-power Atom Z processors to those customers that have already ordered the parts. Such companies include names like Acer, ASUSTeK and Micro-Star International, all of which have been present on the netbook market since the early days. It's yet unclear how this move will impact Sony's ultraportable Vaio P, which is probably the most talked-about Atom Z-powered laptop on the market.

Netbook vendors that have built systems using said processor family will have to refresh their product lines with updated configurations of the low-power systems. This is also consistent with current rumors that the Vaio P will be getting a refresh in October.