Intel's Pineview-D 2010 Atom platform aims for a TDP in the 12W to 15W range, while the Cedarview-D platform aims to offer a sub-10W TDP for the entire platform.

This number should include the CPU as well as graphics and memory controllers, both integrated within the CPU, as well as the Tigerpoint NM10 Southbridge.

In the future, Intel's 2011 Atom platform hopes to achieve a dramatically lower TDP by some 40-percent less than the 2010 Pineview-D. Sources claim this will make the platform easier to cool and should drive the BOM (Bill of materials) cost further down.

We still have to appreciate what is coming with the Pineview-D nettop platform in Q1 2010. It will take more than a year to see the first Cedarview-D systems on the market, but at least the future looks bright and the new Atoms seem to be better optimised for energy savings and battery life.