It's Not Hammer Time YetIt's Not Hammer Time Yet

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is delaying by several months the launch of its highly anticipated 64-bit Hammer chip. ClawHammer, the desktop version of processors that will compete with Intel's 64-bit Itanium chips, was to debut late this year, but the company now says the product won't ship until the first quarter of 2003. AMD says it's still on track to launch Opteron, its 64-bit server version of the chip, in the first half of next year.

AMD declined to give specific reasons for the delay, noting only that its launch dates are rarely set in stone given the complexity of its products. Such hiccups are hardly unprecedented in the chip industry. Intel's Itanium chip was literally years late to market.

Nonetheless, analysts say the delay could significantly hurt AMD's troubled financial picture. Merrill Lynch's Joe Osha has, in fact, increased his estimate of AMD's 2003 losses, from 18 cents a share to 74 cents. "The push-out of Hammer creates another quarter of substantial losses for the company," Osha says.

AMD also said it's pushing back the launch of its latest Athlon chip, dubbed Barton, from late 2002 to early 2003. AMD says it wants to pair the chip with faster bus technology that isn't yet available. In early trading today, AMD's share price had fallen 5.8% to $7.20.