For long, VIA was only interested in the low-power market, clearly demonstrated by the VIA C3 and C7 processors. The latest model, Nano, has turned things upside down, kind of. Both Intel and AMD have been focusing more and more on ultramobile processors with minimal power consumption. Intel has been going out strong and talking a lot about the possibilities of Atom. VIA wasn’t even considered in this eternal battle between Intel and AMD, but the fact remains that this is VIA’s home field and the Nano processor is ready to stand up to Intel Atom.
The first larger reviews have started to surface and they speak in favor of VIA and the Nano series. Over at HotHardware they’ve tested Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz and put it against VIA Nano L2100 1.8GHz processor. Even if you discard the frequency advantage, the VIA processor appears to be the faster of the two.
The margins are rather narrow and at the same time, the Nano processors does consume a bit more power, which is to expect since it operates at a higher frequency and spawns from a 65nm node, Atom uses much more efficient 45nm technology.
In any case, VIA Nano looks to be viable option for low power platforms, not the least since it is pin-compatible with the previous generation, VIA C7. All VIA needs to do now is find partners that will bring it to market.
