AMD To Ship Next-Gen Mobile Chip In Early '06AMD To Ship Next-Gen Mobile Chip In Early '06

Advanced Micro Devices executives said the company plans to launch its low-power, dual-core Turion 64 processor early next year, which would push its release date closer to that of rival Intel's next-generation mobile offering, Yonah.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker also has had positive talks with Lenovo, which manufactures the top-selling ThinkPad notebooks, about having the PC vendor adopt its processor technology, according to AMD executives.

"We had actually been talking to both Lenovo and IBM" before Lenovo bought IBM's PC and ThinkPad business earlier this year, said Bahr Mahoney, division marketing manager for AMD’s mobile business. "And we were further along in those conversations, actually, with Lenovo."

Lenovo executives couldn’t be reached for comment.

AMD executives said they foresee a watershed year for the company's mobile business, which they expect will help AMD start competing head to head with Intel's market-leading Centrino mobile platform.

In addition to shipping its dual-core, low-power mobile chip, AMD plans to roll out its Pacifica virtualization technology on its mobile platforms in the first half of next year, Mahoney said.

Talks with system builders also have led AMD to re-evaluate some of its distribution strategy to the channel, Mahoney added. The company is considering offering delivery of mobile processors to system builders in processor-in-a-box (PIB) shipments. AMD's PIB systems for workstations and servers are bar-coded and have three-year warranties, heat sinks, installation manuals and additional security features. Mahoney said PIB systems would aid the acquisition and business processes for smaller system builders.