Linus Torvalds (torvalds@linux-foundation.org) on 8/6/10 wrote:
---------------------------

>Oh yes. I think something like a VIA core matched up with
>Ion could easily compete in the netbook space.
>
>It's a pretty thin space, though. Core i3 (and even more
>so Sandy Bridge, I would expect) does quite well in low-end
>laptops. And Intel is trying to push Atom down obviously,
>at which point it may even be a reasonable alternative. So
>Intel is weak only in the really low-end netbook area.

Maybe if they had that chip sampling right now. But what
Via actually has is a part that's around 20W and still in
65nm. And what's actually sampling already is the Bobcat
core and Ontario dual-Bobcat + GPU, at 40nm, targeting
that same netbook space, with a CPU specifically
designed for low power, and the GPU using the Evergreen
architecture which seems to have the best performance-
per-watt seen so far.

Bobcat/Ontario may or may not do well in that segment:
it's always tough competing with Intel. But however
tough it is for Bobcat/Ontario, it's got to be tougher
for a hypothetical Via/NVidia merged product which
isn't even designed yet, let alone sampling.