Joanna Stern

I’m writing this post on my old Toshiba Mini NB305. Indeed, I dusted off my 10-inch netbook to type these words, so please be gentle if you happen to find any typos. But hey, I figured it was the appropriate device to use for writing an article about Intel’s future netbook platform. I know, it’s a bit jarring to hear the words “netbook” and “future” in the same sentence during these days of insane tablet-mania, but Intel’s absolutely not giving up on the netbooks, and that bit of information is by far the biggest news coming out of the Intel Developer’s Forum in Beijing this week.  Okay sure, the company’s press release details how its Oak Trail platform is going to start shipping in (mostly Windows 7) tablets in May, but the snippets on its forthcoming Cedar Trail platform for netbooks and its commitment to what has really become a product category on life support are pretty damn interesting.

Last week I had the chance to talk about Cedar Trail with Intel’s Bill Kircos, and while he wouldn’t share much in terms of raw performance improvements, he was all about three core new features being added to the platform. Firstly, Wireless Display (or WiDi) will be making its way into the netbooks. (WiDi, for those that don’t know, is that sweet feature in some higher end Intel laptops that lets you stream video to your TV with an extra box.) The second is the addition of Wireless Music, which as I’m sure you’ve figured out, will add streaming audio capabilities. (Oddly, Kircos wouldn’t comment on if that’s headed to Intel’s Core 2011 processors.) The third is a bit more of a bore, and focuses on easier file syncing between multiple laptops. Like I said, Intel’s not talking much in terms of performance gain at this point, but it’s promising Blu-ray / full 1080p capabilities along with HDMI-out support, and I was able to get Kircos to admit that the new Atom processors will provide “a big boost” in power over today’s Pine Trail silicon. For those that are into specs, the chips will also enable fanless designs and have a lower TDP.

Those aforementioned features are interesting additions to be sure, but are they enough to keep a netbook dust-free and in my constant rotation of mobile gadgets? To be honest, I’m not sure — I’ve become so accustomed to using my iPad for netbook-like tasks (reading e-mails, news, Twitter, etc.) that I’d say it’s doubtful, but I won’t be certain until Intel spills the beans on the real performance capabilities coming down the pipe. As I’ve said before, netbooks face competition from the tablets but also “notbooks” or affordable ultraportables (like the HP Pavilion dm1z or recent Dell Inspiron M102z), which are mostly powered by AMD’s Fusion these days. If Intel’s willing to complement these new features with some real power — power that could turn an 11.6- or 12-inch system into a primary laptop that can keep up with my workload — then maybe, just maybe, netbooks have a future on my coffee table (streaming the latest Grey’s Anatomy to my TV, naturally), rather than in my closet with the dust bunnies.