Complying with their agreement with Intel, the big netbook vendors MSI, Acer, Asustek Computer, and Lenovo all held off releasing their new Atom-based N450 netbooks. But, as of January 11, 2010, these netbooks will be available for sale to the public.
There will be three versions of Atom N450-based netbooks available, each using different operating systems: Windows 7 Starter, Moblin Linux and Windows XP Home Edition.
The Intel Atom N450 processor will offer better power management in a smaller package than the current N270 processors found in almost every netbook.
In addition to Atom N450, Intel will launch an upgraded Atom N470 CPU in March 2010. This will come on the heels of the much anticipated Chrome OS netbooks, looking to make an appearance mid 2010.
For a better overview of the new Atom N450 line, see the HKEC site for the chart.