Intel Centrino Atom becomes Atom, Atom still Atom, you're confused

Oh good, another marketing-speak change-up tossed our way from Intel. Apparently, the Centrino Atom naming convention is no more, leaving the in-house branded Menlow chipset used in MIDs and UMPCs essentially nameless. Atom, as you may recall, is the name of the Silverthorn and Diamondville-class CPUs. Got it? Of course you don't. No worries, that's why you've got us. You just focus on trying to understand the difference between MIDs and UMPCs and netbooks and ultra-portables and we'll take care of the rest.

[Mike @ Aug 14th 2008 7:02AM]

Confused? I'm speechless ... almost.

[Silvio @ Aug 15th 2008 8:06PM]

Allow me explain. Laptops that have an Atom processor, an Intel WiFi card and an Intel Chipset will have the Atom inside sticker. Laptops which have only the Atom processor don't get the sticker.

[Mike @ Aug 14th 2008 7:06AM]

There's always next time :P

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Aug 14th 2008 7:25AM]

Actually, I hope there will be NOT a next time..

[d0od @ Aug 14th 2008 7:26AM]

whaaaaaaaa? HOw confusing. still, it's blue for boys... pink for....

[Kizorblade @ Aug 14th 2008 7:26AM]

"You're confused!"
"No I'm not..."
"YES YOU ARE"

[Kizorblade @ Aug 14th 2008 7:27AM]

First to fail.

No you don't get a cookie.
And there is no cake.

[Deoki @ Aug 14th 2008 8:05AM]

So... does this mean Eee users now have pseudo-Atoms too?

How can I mock them up with that?!? Where's the fun? WHERE'S THE FUN???

[Deoki @ Aug 14th 2008 8:06AM]

Also... the cake is a lie.

[crsh @ Aug 14th 2008 7:29AM]

You can always count on Intel to make things more confusing when trying to make them easier to understand.. Is VIIV replacing Centrino as a laptop platform too? I mean, why stop there.. :P

[Sam @ Aug 14th 2008 7:30AM]

Oh great, more deliberate ambiguity from Intel.
First, everyone forgets that there are two very different Atoms, Silverthorne and Diamondville, and continually assume one is the other. Now there is a third one?

Engadget, on behalf of your entire readership, I implore you to start referring to actual chip code names rather than a broad product class when discussing cpus.

Thankyou.

[Ogo @ Aug 14th 2008 7:30AM]

I am ok knowledgeable in computers but even with Intel product charts I cannot figure out WTF is going on with all the name changes.

I dread my next computer purchase.

[Ayman @ Aug 14th 2008 7:37AM]

wait another 5 days and its going to be "Intel Atom Inside" going to be "Intel Inside", while "Intel Inside" going to still be "Intel Inside".

why cant they have an outside?..so if it ever crashes i will break it instead of the screen

[Ayman @ Aug 14th 2008 7:41AM]

I know the OS crashes and not the CPU but i cant brake Software with my hands

[Dan Halen @ Aug 14th 2008 10:07AM]

*Wait
*it's
*is going to be
*"Intel Inside."
*Why
*can't
*So
*I
*screen.
*I
*can't
*break
*software
*hands.

Even with the corrections, I still have no clue what the fuck you're talking about.

[Austin @ Aug 14th 2008 7:44AM]

I gave up after Conroe and Merom.

[bartoron @ Aug 14th 2008 8:14AM]

I'm still confused as to why Intel decided to re-design the Core 2 Duo by introducing like 583 different cores.

[Backlin @ Aug 14th 2008 8:17AM]

Why can't they stick to the codenames? There's some amount of distinction in those.

[ShadowKain @ Aug 14th 2008 8:18AM]

I sometimes strive to keep up with the microarchitecture naming and the code names, but it simply is useless. Its "cool" when they chip is debuted but the sparkle from names like "Nehalem" core and the like soon leaves as soon as people realize its just another processor as the ones before it, albeit with some improvements.

[Andy TGD @ Aug 14th 2008 8:22AM]

Oh right, well this is consumer friendly marketing for my 50 year old mother...

[Paul Dullford @ Aug 14th 2008 8:53AM]

Why not just call the Atom (the nee Centrino Atom, not the plain Atom) the Intel Isotope and be done with it?

[gerald_lisik @ Aug 14th 2008 9:04AM]

menlow? who thought of that name for a chipset?
As for name indecision, I am sure it happened before but we heard less of it since there were no news blogs etc. Yes I am being obvious, I know...

[Phate @ Aug 14th 2008 9:47AM]

Not that confusing. Good thing I'm a bumbling moron with no grasp of technology, or this posting would seem rather condescending.

[LondonConsultant @ Aug 14th 2008 10:07AM]

So, what is the *simplest* explanation for the difference between MIDs, UMPCs, netbooks, and ultra-portables?

[computer.dude.28 @ Aug 14th 2008 1:05PM]

if you wanna be really simple, they're all the same. Netbooks do more than MIDs and UMPC is just a tiny PC but they're all basically portable devices for connecting on the go.

[icepop4who @ Aug 14th 2008 1:22PM]

they cost differently. The price range from lowest to highest is netbooks, MIDs, UMPCs, Ultraportables.

Here's a general size from smallest to largest: MIDs, UMPCs, Netbooks, Ultraportables. MIDs and UMPCs have either slide out keyboards or keyboards on the same plane as the screen. Netbooks and Ultraportables are small laptops.

You still with me? Good.

Processing power from slowest to fastest: MIDs, Netbooks, UMPCs, Ultraportables.

Battery life: too confusing to list. Some of these devices have really long battery life and some have almost none. I guess the smaller the device, the longer the battery life, but really it's based on the battery.

Then again, do you really need internet that badly to go through all this trouble?

[linuxamp @ Aug 14th 2008 10:19AM]

Next they'll decide to call the Intel Atom (32bit) IA-32 and Intel Atom 64bit IA-64.

[kebabrhyl @ Aug 14th 2008 12:49PM]

you guys crack me up.

[whiskey @ Aug 15th 2008 9:36AM]

Confusing? NOT AT ALL!

Why? Because Intel switches names from time to time to keep you from selling your old stuff to get new... So Centrino Duo? Not anymore, Intel Core Duo Mobile Extreme... Try to explain that even if your computer has a Centrino Duo sticker it's soul is the same as the Intel Dual Core Furious Engine??? "Yours is older".

[eiki @ Aug 15th 2008 12:50PM]

DON'T WORRY

MIDs and UMPCS account for less than 1% of the market, and I think are pretty useless now netbooks have taken off and replaced market share, too expensive, nowhere to type (generalisation) so this shouldn't really shake anything up for buyers (all 2 of them)