Bob boyce hex controler Atmega48 vs parralax stamps

[Indigo2Angel]

In the interview with Bob Boyce he mentioned he uses an Atmega48 microcontroler because the parralax stamps don't have enough power.
If i look at the datasheet of the Atmega48 it says it runs on 16 Mhz, while my parralax bs2sx runs on 50 Mhz.

Can someone explain this to me?

Thanks in advance

[Indigo2Angel]

it's because of the mips i recon?

atmega48 20 MIPS at 20 Mhz vs BS2SX-IC 10.000 instructions per second at 50Mhz.