Atom (system on chip)

Atom is a system on chip (SoC) platform designed for smartphones and tablet computers, launched by Intel in 2012. It is a continuation of the partnership announced by Intel and Google on 13 September 2011 to provide support for the Android operating system on Intel x86 processors. This range competes with existing SoCs developed for the smartphone and tablet market from companies like Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung. Unlike these companies, which use ARM-based CPUs designed from the beginning to consume very low power, Intel has adapted the x86 based Atom line CPU developed for low power usage in netbooks, to even lower power usage.