The popular Intel Atom microprocessors made for netbooks, or mini-laptops, costs 52 percent more per chip than the desktop version of the same processor.

The Atom N270, the mini-laptop version of the microprocessor, costs US$44, compared to $29 for the Atom 230, the desktop, or nettop version of the chip, according to Intel’s latest price list.

Atom is Intel’s smallest and lowest-power microprocessor, designed for a new category of computing devices that are low-cost and always connected to the Internet. The chips have found a home inside a number of devices, mainly the popular mini-laptop, or netbook segment of the market, which includes Asustek Computer’s popular Eee PC, Micro-Star International’s (MSI) Wind mini-notebook, Acer’s Aspire one and Giga-byte Technology’s M912.

Netbooks have become popular because they’re small and light, usually less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds), making them easy to carry around. They’re also inexpensive, with most price tags under US$500, and many of the newer ones can run for seven or eight hours if they have a 6-cell battery.

The difference between the laptop Atom processor and the desktop version, Atom 230, is heat. There is commonly more space inside a desktop PC to allow heat to dissipate, or for more cooling systems such as fans and heat sinks, so the 230 can be made using less expensive material.

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