Later this week, during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Freescale Semiconductor is expected to present its new i.MX51 ARM Cortex processor, designed for the netbook market. This represents a strong move against its competition, as the product clearly targets Intel’s Atom.

The low-cost laptops are used for performing basic computing functions such as accessing the Web and running productivity applications. Over the past year, they managed to become extremely popular and the trend caught the eye of many companies looking to enter the prosperous market. At this point, the devices cost about $299, using the Atom processors. Freescale is looking to deliver a far better offer, cutting the netbooks’ price down to about $199.

Glen Burchers, marketing director at Freescale's consumer division, explained that lowering the price is not the company’s only goal, as it plans to also improve the battery life to about 8 hours – which would represent a significantly better result than the battery life on Atom-based netbooks. This improvement was possible due to the fact that the processor needs less power to run, as it does not need a heat sink or a fan to cool.

"We believe the netbook is a device that is going to be primarily targeted at Internet access, that is a companion device to computers and to smartphones. It is not a replacement for either," said Mr. Burchers. The company’s core target is the teenagers’ segment, as it is a well known fact that Web browsing and social networking are some of the top activities for teens when using a computer.  

The option to connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi wireless networking will be included in the Freescale-based netbooks.

Mr. Burchers added that the chips are scheduled to ship by the middle of the year and that several netbooks makers have already shown interest in the product. For now he did not want to give out any names, but such details might be provided during the Consumer Electronics Show. The plan is to make the new netbook line available by the end of the year, which will include models with screen sizes from 8.9 to 10 inches.

The netbooks will not support Windows, but will have Linux. This could represent a problem for the company, as netbooks with Intel-based chips have the clear advantage of running popular and familiar programs such as Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer. Mr. Burchers also addressed this issue, saying that Linux can be just as effective when it comes to netbook-specific jobs such as social networking activities and running productivity applications. He also added that activities with Firefox and OpenOffice.org will be very easy to bet accustomed to, as they look in Linux the same they look in Windows.

So far, the new strategy appears to be on the right track and the interest is definitely there. More details will surely be available during the CES, which will begin on January 8 and end three days later.