Engadget has posted some juicy details on the upcoming Intel Atom N280 processor that will soon power netbooks.

The processor won’t offer any massive upgrades on its predecessor, the N270, but will give machines a slight performance boost. The chip will run at a 1.66GHz speed in comparison to the N270’s 1.6GHz, as well as a 667MHz bus compared to the N270’s 533MHz. The unit price will be a little higher than the original, an estimated $60-65 compared to $46.

The chip is already in Asus’ plans and will be packed into upcoming netbooks, and according to a DigiTimes article published today, N280 netbooks will hit the market between Q2 and Q3 ‘09.