If you consider Intel's design execution over the past 12 months or so, you'd have to admit it's nothing short of impressive. Not only did we see the launch of a new desktop chip with the Core i7, but Intel then ramped up clock speeds, introduced lower cost mainstream variants of the platform, and then drove that technology down into the mobile market with the introduction of Clarksfield, otherwise known as Core i7 mobile. Of course all of that execution was centered around more powerful computing platforms with larger form factors and the thermal and power budgets that go with them. These products, though huge contributors to Intel's bottom line, didn't cater to the ultra-mobile set of device Intel affectionately calls "Netbooks" and "MIDs" (Mobile Internet Devices) - the now cash-cow that Intel CEO, Paul Otellini holds near and dear to his heart, along with the company's investors.

Today we're here to give you a taste of the next generation of Atom processors that will execute on a plan of attack that Intel's rival, AMD, has been waving around as something called "fusion" for a long time now, but has yet to deliver. The Atom N450 processor is being launched today and it's comprised of a single core Atom chip with on-die graphics. This level of integration, as we've shown you recently, is also coming to Intel's notebook platforms, but today Atom gets it first for netbooks. In the pages ahead we'll take a closer look at a new Eee PC from Asus with this new low-power Atom technology under its hood...