As it is my job to keep track, for you dear reader, of what chip giant Intel Corp is working on, sometimes that task is not so clear cut.

Take for example a report from the Bloomberg news service yesterday evening that Intel is going to begin selling processors (codenamed Diamondville) designed for portable computers costing as little as $250. Sounds like something new, right?

A quick Google search, however, shows that the New York Times already covered this story two months ago.

And EDN has covered Silverthorne extensively as well.

Diamondville, a derivative of Silverthorne, is set to debut in an ultra-portable class of low-cost notebook computers called “netbooks” by the middle of the year, Intel spokesman Bill Calder confirmed with EDN today.

Currently, the Eee PC uses Intel’s Celeron ultra low power processor, while Diamondville’s power envelope will resemble that of Silverthorne’s 0.6 to 2 watt capability. “This is a super tiny little die but the killer is that it is low power,” Calder explained, which opens up the opportunities for a range of form factors.

Also, because Diamondville is aimed at netbooks, not handheld devices like Silverthorne, Intel is able to manufacture the device with larger packaging, thereby lowering the cost but still taking advantage of its 45-nm, high-k metal gate process, he noted.

Intel is anticipating a number of low-cost netbooks to hit the market this year in the $250 to $300 range, and I can imagine it will do what it can to be in many, if not most, of them. “It’s not going to be just ASUS. There will be a pretty broad range of OEMs and ODMs getting into this space,” Calder added.

As for reports that Apple would use Intel’s Silverthorne in a new generation of handheld devices, Calder could not comment on what Intel’s customers would or would not do, but did say that Silverthorne is a "pretty compelling product for all kinds of form factors."

For more on how the ASUS eeePC came to be, check out this Forbes article from last November.

--Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor