AMD Officially Launches the Athlon Neo
PrintAMD's decision to skip the netbook market up to this point has been a curious one, considering how well the low power mobile PCs are selling. Now that AMD has officially launched its Athlon Neo chip, Intel might finally have some competition to contend with, right? Not so fast.
According to Gizmodo, AMD's answer to Intel's Atom doesn't answer very much. Instead, the site says the Athlon Neo costs more, consumes more power, and despite being faster than the Atom, the Neo surprisingly isn't intended for netbooks. Huh?
"We believe there is a significant market opportunity that lies between the less-capable mininotebook and higher-priced ultraportable notebook segments,” said Bob O’Donnell, program vice president, Clients and Displays, IDC. “Integrating the right kind of technologies will enable companies to pioneer a new category of ultrathin notebook PCs, offering consumers the value they seek in a challenging global economy."
Instead of targeting the wildly popular netbook market, AMD plans to focus on ultrathin notebooks starting with HP's Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook. Previously codenamed Yukon, the Athlon Neo chip gets paired with either the ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics, or the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics solution, making it far better suited for media-oriented applications than most netbooks, so perhaps AMD is on to something here.
Will AMD's strategy of targeting a niche market between netbooks and ultraportables pay off? Hit the jump and tell us what you think.
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Shalbatana
January 08, 2009 at 9:16pm
I think they are not only on to something, they're up to something.
They say this is where they're targeting now, but there's more to this than surface water.
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QuadraQ
January 07, 2009 at 5:52pm
I think there's a lot people that would like something simple, thin and light - while at the same time not so small and underpowered you can't do some gaming.
I'd love a cheap ultraportable I could play Civ IV on!
SANMANx
January 07, 2009 at 1:36pm
I think they are on to something as well...Only if they stay priced right. Not sure they will work out if they are more then $550-600. If these launch and stay sub $500. I will totally wait for these over a netty. We'll just call these Neo's
I am Recession Proof
ankaizes
January 07, 2009 at 8:33am
Depending on how they price these ultra-portables they maybe on to something.
I dont like netbooks because they are too small and underpowered and has been looking for something in between. A 12 incher that is more capable... however the notebooks available at these segement are usually pretty expensive.
So this maybe a good sign, but will really depend on how they price it.
teh 1337 haxxor
January 07, 2009 at 1:21pm
I have to agree with you. The 12 inch screen seems like a great size. Still quite small and portable, but also capable of higher resolutions.
I would say it also depends on different features. I would like to see 802.11n, and bluetooth available, with at least 3 or 4 hours of battery life, and discrete graphics for 700-800 dollars.
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