Chinese manufacturer Teso is showcasing a 9.7 inch tablet that will be available in two iterations: a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z515 chip or a 1.9GHz Intel Atom Z650 processor.
According to Nicole Scott of Netbook News, the Z515 version runs Windows 7, while the Z650 can be loaded with either MeeGo or Android.
“The reason for the differing operating system is that the new Intel Atom Z600 processors ‘Moorestown’ architecture is fundamentally different from its predecessor the Z500 series.
“As far as we know, the new chipsets offers no support for a [typical] BIOS, but supports what’s called a Simple Firmware Interface (SFI) and some specific BIOS options. This means that it can not be used with Windows which is for x86 systems.”
However, Scott acknowledged that most data related to the Z600 was “speculative,” as Intel had yet to provide detailed information about the series.
“[Still], you can clearly see on Intel’s fact sheet that the processor is running at 1.9GHz…and up to this point in time there has been definite lack of BIOS support.”
Meanwhile, Brad Linder of Lilliputing attributed the lack of a Windows 7 option on the Z6xx to lower power sipping capabilities.
“The Atom Z6xx Moorestown series of chips are designed to use less energy than their predecessors,” he explained. “So, despite the higher clock speed of the Z650, Teso says the tablet will run Android 2.2 or MeeGo Linux with this chip instead of Windows.”
