[citation][nom]r0x0r[/nom]Atoms running a full OS are slow as hell, but I wonder how these would run android (hint hint put it in a phone).[/citation]
What he is trying to say is that the original atoms were really meant for ultra portable PCs, (UMPC) a hand held phone like computer with more kick than a regular smart phone. They were not really designed for low power and cheap laptops or now called netbooks.
The original atom was rather slow and could not even playback 720p video very well.
Now they are much better and as seen in Toms Hardware recent p4 vs atom, the dual core atom flat out beats a 3.0 GHz P4 while using less power.
If you want overall system responsiveness on the older atoms than go with linux. Even the original Asus Eee PC before the atom used linux and a celeron m at 800 Mhz.
But don't kid yourself the atom is not for Photoshop, Seti@Home, number crunching, or Crysis.