VIA may claim its Nano processor isn't for netbooks, but that won't stop Samsung next month unveiling a 12in notebook-not-netbook based on the chip.

According to Asian moles, the Samsung Nano-based machine - dubbed the NC20 - will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2009.

Specifications include 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. There seems some confusion over which Nano it'll use, but the 1.2GHz U2500 seems the likely candidate.

Curiously, DigiTimes notes that "Intel has a restriction" in the size of netbooks it'll permit to use the Atom CPU - 7-10in, to be precise.

The implication is that Samsung had to use Nano in order to use a 12in display. Sounds like cobblers to us. Intel seems to have had no problem with Dell's 12in Inspiron Mini 12 using an Atom CPU - and one for handheld internet tablets, at that - and it's not the sort of company to encourage its customers to buy from rival CPU suppliers by imposing daft rules. ®

VIA Nano
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