Toshiba's AMD Laptops Due in Fall
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A few more details emerge about the three energy-efficient Turion-powered notebooks.
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Processors specially developed by Intel for&#160;Apple&#39;s new MacBook Air laptop&#160;will soon be used by other PC vendors in systems, possibly creating competition for what Apple calls the world&#39;s lightest and thinnest notebook.Two PC makers will use the miniaturized Intel Core 2 Duo processors used by Apple in MacBook Air, said a source familiar with Intel&#39;s plans. Systems powered by the chips will be released soon, the source said.The companies&#39; names weren&#39;t revealed, but the chip could bring smaller and lighter notebooks that could compete in size and performance with the ultra-thin MacBook Air, which weighs 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms) and measures 0.16 inches (0.4 centimeters) at its thinnest part and 0.76 inches (1.93 cms) at its thickest part.Apple asked Intel to develop powerful chips for MacBook Air that are 60 percent smaller than the normal size, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said during a keynote address at the Macworld Conference and Expo earlier this month. Intel obliged, which led to the development of smaller Core 2 Duo processors.&quot;All you have to do is check out the size and shape of the MacBook Air to see what the shrink enables -- smaller, lighter form factors that were physically not possible before,&quot; said Connie Brown, an Intel spokeswoman.The MacBook Air comes with miniaturized Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at either 1.6Ghz or 1.8GHz, with the Intel 965GMS chip set and integrated graphics. Manufactured using the 65-nanometer process, the chips belong to Intel&#39;s Merom family of processors.Intel shrunk the CPU and chip set for a 60 percent reduction in total footprint to comparable Merom processors, Brown said. While delivering similar performance, the chips use 20 watts of power, lower than comparable Merom chips that use 35 watts.The miniaturized chip was designed for Apple, but other PC makers can use it, Brown said.PC manufacturers could adopt the miniaturized Merom CPU in mini desktops or subnotebooks, but the Mac OS X Leopard operating system gives MacBook Air an advantage, said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight 64. Other systems could be based on Windows or Linux.Apple also has a leg up in product design, which potential MacBook Air competitors will find hard to emulate, Brookwood said.&quot;What has resulted from Apple&#39;s move to Intel chips is its forcing other OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] to pay more attention to the styling of their systems, which is clearly an advantage for users,&quot; Brookwood said.This was the first time Intel developed a small form-factor chip from a normal-sized mobile processor, Brown said.However, Intel has talked about developing chips with smaller form factors in the past.At the Intel Developer Forum last year, Intel talked about shrinking the size of chips by up to 60 percent for its next-generation Montevina mobile platform, which will include the new Penryn processors manufactured using the 45-nm process. The small form-factor chips will be released shortly after the normal-sized chips, due to ship by the middle of this year.It&#39;s not a coincidence that both Intel and Apple have talked about a 60 percent size reduction in chips, Brookwood said. Apple has taken a step ahead by adopting the Merom processor for the MacBook Air, and a natural path of progression is to upgrade to the small form-factor Penryn processors that will be part of Montevina, he said.Apple doesn&#39;t comment on future products, a company spokesman wrote in an e-mail.
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Blog: Toshiba launches a new line of notebooks powered by chips from Advanced Micro Devices, marking the first time in seven years the computer maker has ended its exclusive arrangement with rival chip maker Intel
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In a move that was successfully kept secret, for the most part. AMD is making an unprecedented, near-term adjustment to its technology roadmap. As soon as the first half of next year, the company plans to introduce into the desktop CPU market a new line of Phenom triple-core processors, whose architecture was christened with the code-name Toliman just hours ago.
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(InfoWorld) - A little more detail is known about theÂ new laptops from ToshibaÂ that will use processors from Advanced Micro Devices. Toshiba will launch three laptops in its Satellite range in North America based on AMD's Turion 64 X2 dual-core chip and M690 chip set, AMD said on Wednesday. Toshiba, which confirmed plans on Tuesday for AMD machines but offered no details, said Wednesday that the computers will be available in the third quarter. TheÂ M690 chip set has just been launchedÂ by AMD and will, according to the company, help reduce power consumption and lead to a 25 percent increase in battery life compared to the previous-generation AMD platform. The Japanese PC maker, which ranked fourth in the laptop market in the first quarter of this year, hasn't used AMD chips in laptops since 2000. In anÂ antitrust lawsuit filed against processor-rival IntelÂ in 2005, AMD alleged that Toshiba stopped using its chips after receiving a "very substantial" payment from Intel. Toshiba was receiving "market development funds" from Intel worth about $25 million to $30 million per quarter and those would be jeopardized if it used AMD chips, the lawsuit alleged. AMD is stepping up pressure against Intel in the laptop market and recently disclosed plans to launch a new laptop platform called Puma in 2008. Puma is AMD's answer to Intel'sÂ recently launched Santa RosaÂ laptop platform. The two companies are locked in competition at the bottom-end of the laptop market too. AMD scored the contract to supply chips for One Laptop Per Child's "$100 laptop" after which Intel introduced its own machine for emerging markets, the Classmate PC. Â
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(InfoWorld) - In the race to make ever lighter laptop computers, ToshibaÂ is poised to take the lead in the 12-inch screen class with new models coming from June. The Dynabook SS RX1, which will be sold in the U.S. as the Portege R500, is available in several configurations, the lightest of which is just 768 grams (1.7 pounds), Toshiba said Tuesday. That's more than 100 grams lighter than Sony's Vaio G laptop that wasÂ launched in late 2006Â and had been regarded as the lightest in its class until now. In the hand the new laptop feels impressively light and well balanced, unlike the Vaio G, which I found felt a little heavier towards the back of the machine than at the front. Toshiba has obviously put a lot of work into the machine. The keyboard is just a few millimeters thick but the keys still travel enough that typing is comfortable. There are also some nice design features. For example, the top half of the laptop with the screen is slightly smaller than the bottom half so the screen is better protected, according to Toshiba, if the laptop is dropped and lands on its side. The thickness of the magnesium body also differs to provide more protection where it's needed, the company said. It's also thinner at the front than at the back where the hinges are -- 19.5 millimeters versus 25.5 millimeters. That's so it's easier for business people to push the laptop into a shoulder bag, said Akitoshi Shiraga, group manager of Toshiba's laptop consumer product planning group in an interview. And for people who are using the machine outside in direct sunlight, there's a conveniently located button just under the display that switches off the backlight to make the transreflective screen easier to read. At the computer's heart lies a 1.06GHz Intel Corp. Core2 Duo processor. The screen has WXGA resolution (1,280 pixel by 800 pixel) and all models pack 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, 3x USB2.0 ports, iLink (IEEE1394), monitor socket, microphone socket and headphone jack. U.S. models will also include support for 802.11n Wi-Fi, Toshiba said. The lightest of the configurations -- the one that weighs 768 grams -- uses a 64GB solid-state disk (SSD) in place of a conventional hard-disk drive. SSDs use flash memory chips to record data and are therefore quieter, faster and more energy efficient than hard drives, which record data on a fast rotating magnetic disk. Users can choose to replace the SSD with an 80GB or 120GB hard-disk drive and add an optical drive to increase the machine's specifications and, inevitably, the machine weight. However a full-featured machine with hard-disk, optical drive and six-cell long-life battery is still pretty light at around a kilogram. The long-life battery, which includes six cells and doesn't protrude beyond the edge of the machine, provides enough power for up to 12 and a half hours of use based on a Japanese industry benchmark, said Toshiba. In Japan, the laptop will sell for about Â¥225,000 ($1,846). Toshiba's U.S. and European business units will announce availability in their respective markets later.
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Cool gadgets from Asia this month also include a new Toshiba laptop equipped for HD DVD-R.
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NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO  - Advanced Micro Devices Inc  has delayed shipments of a key, high-end microprocessor until the first quarter of next year and does not expect to break even until the second quarter, the chipmaker said on Thursday.
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AMD got some much-needed good news this week when Gateway announced that it's trading in Intel chips for AMD Phenom quad-core processors in two new high-end desktop machines.Gateway, which has been mostly an Intel-only company for years, unveiled Wednesday AMD-based GM and GT series desktop systems. And for a microprocessor company that has been struggling with missed shipment dates, financial woes and a slide in mind share, this is welcome news, according to industry analysts."This is very positive for AMD," said Dean Freeman, an analyst at Gartner. "Almost any wins are good news for AMD at this time. AMD has been beaten down pretty hard lately, and this says someone thinks enough of them still to put their chips in their systems."Focusing on "media-hungry users", the new Gateway GM5664 desktop is geared toward gamers and users interested in video editing or watching live TV online. Available at U.S. retailers for $1,149.99, the computer also sports a "Hybrid-SuperMulti" optical drive that reportedly can read both HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies as well as read and burn CDs and standard-def DVDs.The Gateway GT5662, which prices in at $749.99, is a multimedia lite machine. This desktop uses the lower power AMD Phenom quad-core 9500 proccessor, a 500GB hard drive, and its own SuperMulti drive to enable users to burn content onto DVDs or CDs.Both Freeman and Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight 64, noted that by getting some AMD processors into the mix, Gateway is able to buy some of its chips for a lot less cash. "This allows Gateway to go ahead and lower margins or offer lower prices for customers," said Freeman. "Gateway is looking to make strategic moves to increase profitability."Having Gateway buy into its quad-core family isn't going to put AMD back on top by any means, noted Gordon Haff, an analyst with Illuminata. "No specific OEM, especially a second-tier one, is going to change AMD's market position dramatically," he added. "That said, this is how companies need to build their market position -- one win at a time, whether big or small."
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Eyeing Sun's Niagara flow Intel has confirmed plans to "tick" and "tock" AMD into submission.â¦
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Japan's Toshiba Corp. said on Wednesday it would introduce notebook computers with HD DVD technology in the last quarter of 2005 in a move to pressure rivals in the battle over formats for next-generation DVDs.
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IDF Fall '04 As Intel prepares to detail its own multi-core chips
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AMD has introduced its latest Mobile AMD Sempron processor 3000+, which is designed for thin notebooks. Built to compete with Intel&#39;s Centrino, the AMD processor offers Enhanced Virus Protection
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Toshiba plans to drop out of the plasma display panel television market and next summer will start producing surface conduction electron emitter display (SED) panels for flat panel televisions with 40-inch or larger screens.
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Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)  , the world's second-largest maker of computer  microprocessors, said on Tuesday it expects its declining  market share to bottom out and return to an upward trend by the  end of the year.
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Gericom and Packard Bell NEC plan to use the Mobile Sempron 3000+ chip in new notebooks before the end of the year, but AMD&#39;s new processor looks unlikely to overturn Intel&#39;s solid advantage in the notebook market.
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HDMI, DisplayPort, UVD to be added to laptop chipsets Mobile Roadmap AMD's roadmap for its notebook-oriented has taken a decidedly avian turn as the chip maker gears up to battle Intel's Centrino, a plan that will see it support Flash-fitted hybrid hard drives, 802.11n Wi-Fi, HyperTransport 3 and DirectX 10.â¦