ATI new numbering explained

THE NEW NAMING scheme for ATI cards is about to see thelight of day, and frighteningly enough, this one makes sense. What were thoseproduct planners thinking?
Theotoldyou about the names Monday, but how those names come about is interesting.Take the 3870 for example, or to use the full marketspeak, ATI Radeon HD 3870.The first number, 3, denotes the Generation. Why this is different from the 2x00line I don't know, but from now on, this should advance generationally, whateverthat means.
The second number, in this case x8xx, connotes Family, and the last twodigits, xx70 is the Variant. 70 is equivalent to XT, 50 is the new name for Pro,and 13 is the card from that company you never heard of with the Englishishmanual and no web site. Don't buy the 3813.
When the next gen variants of the 2400 and 2600 come out, expect to see a3x50 and 3x70, and likely with a few other variants as well.
Last up, there is a card named ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 on the slides that wehave seen, with a release date of 'winter'. The non-X2 line has a price listedas $150-250, while the X2 is in the same price point as the 2900XT, or about$400. I guess that would make the X2 two higher end 3870s on a PCB, but that isnot specified.
I suppose all of these questions and more will be answered on the 15th.