VIA Nano to Be Found in a Major OEM Notebook in Q1 2009

Yesterday afternoon we spent some time with the guys from VIA and got to talking about the future of its Nano platform.  While its C7-M platform was a popular platform for 7 to 10 inch netbooks (and UMPCs for awhile) including  HP’s original Mini-Note 2133, it has lost its footing to Intel’s Atom in the past few months.

Now instead VIA is focusing its newest Nano platform on notebooks a bit larger than netbooks. Haven’t we heard this before? Yep, AMD is doing the same thing with its Yukon platform and its Athlon Neo processor. And many OEMS are taking Intel’s Atom processor and putting it into larger notebooks, including the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and the 13 inch MSI X320.

“The sweet spot for Nano will be thin and lights with designs from 11.2 to 13.3 inches in terms of screen size. Intel obviously has the restrictions with its Atom and you see the partners pushing that.  Many want to come out with Macbook Air ($1,995.84) or ultraportable like devices that are affordable we want to let them to do that,” says Richard Brown of VIA.

VIA’s first customer is a company by the name of Dr. Mobile that is coming out with its 11.6 inch FreeStyle notebook. We got a good look at the FreeStyle notebook and, though we have never heard of the company, were impressed by the 11 inch form factor (see some pictures below). According to VIA it will hit the market for around  $500 in February or March.

According to Brown, we will “continue to see OEM announcements. You will see one major OEM announce in Q1 2009.” A few sources have told us that that OEM is Samsung and that the company will release a 12 inch VIA Nano powered notebook.

As for a Nano dual core, that isn’t the focus right now for VIA. “We will be doing one by the end of the year, but that is not the  focus right now. We want to come out with the 3000 series for better performance and endurance,” says Richard Brown of VIA. The Nano 3000 series will have two skews a 1.2GHz and a 1.3GHz option. VIA expects Nano to get similar battery life to its C7M. The Dr. Mobile Freestyle is rated for 3 hours.