Richand comes at just the right time for mobile users.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) today announced the availability of its new Elite A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), otherwise known as "Richland." The new APUs not only offer faster graphics performance and longer battery life via enhanced power management capabilities all on a single chip, they also deliver user experiences like facial log-in and gesture recognition, AMD says.

Look out Intel, because Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also intends to wrestle ARM in the mobile space. The Sunnyvale chip designer just unveiled a new Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) designed for performance tablets and small form factor (SFF) PCs, the AMD Z-60. It's a low power chip that promises all-day battery life along with "stunning graphics" and support for the latest Windows 8 applications, AMD says.

Throughout the years, AMD's strategy against Intel has been to undercut the Santa Clara chip maker in price, though that's not necessarily by design. Clock for clock, AMD's processors don't usually pack the same performance punch as Intel's silicon, and that's especially true with the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge architecture. In response to Ivy Bridge, AMD decided another round of price cuts was in order.

AMD won't be popping open any champagne bottles to celebrate 2011, during which time the Santa Clara chip maker pulled in $6.57 billion in revenue, falling flat year-over-year. Revenue also fell flat sequentially at $1.69 billion, representing a net loss of $177 million, or $0.24 per share, along with operating income of $71 million. But all things considered, it could have been much worse.