Atom is a system on a chip (SoC) platform designed for smartphones and tablet computers, launched by Intel in 2012.[1] It is a continuation of the partnership announced by Intel and Google on September 13, 2011 to provide support for the Android operating system on Intel x86 processors.[2] This range competes with existing SoCs developed for the smartphone and tablet market from companies such as Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung.[3] Unlike these companies, which use ARM-based CPUs designed from the beginning to consume very low power, Intel has adapted the x86-based Intel Atom line of CPU developed for low power usage in netbooks, to even lower power usage.