Digitimes is reporting that Intel is considering dropping the price of its upcoming entry level desktop Atom processor before it even has launched. Currently, the single core Atom 230 processor is priced at US$29, but Intel might consider taking it even lower.

The reason stated is that Intel wants to steal market share from AMD's Sempron range of processors, but we have a sneaky feeling that they want to give the VIA CN/Isaiah a run for its money, as VIA has high hopes for this new processor.

It's too early to draw any kind of conclusion from this, apart from the fact that Intel is dedicated to making the Atom a success every which way. We've heard figures of sub US$50-60 motherboards with the CPU, and this might be another reason for Intel to drop the price of the CPU, as otherwise it might end up too expensive for its partners.

Either way, it looks like Atom based system will be some of the cheapest PC's ever to be launched, although the success of the platform still lies in how well it performs, as cheap isn't always the same thing as good.

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