AMD announces tablet chips

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 19 Jul 2004 at 15:46

High performance notebooks and tablet PCs are addressed by two new mobile processors from AMD.

The tablet PC has yet to take off, but AMD will be hoping that changes with its new Mobile AMD Athlon XP-M processor 2200+. It is the first time AMD has explicitly addressed this convertible PC market with an ultra-portable, low-power offering. AMD asserts that the low thermal design of the 2200+ makes it ideal for compact, lightweight systems.

'We were the first to bring 64 bits and dynamic power management to notebooks, and now the performance of AMD mobile processors is available at your fingertips in a dynamic convertible tablet PC,' said Marty Seyer, general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit.

The 'highest performing 32-bit/64-bit processor designed for Windows-based notebook PCs' is AMD's bold claim for its other new processor, the Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor 3400+. As well as PowerNow! technology for conserving battery life, the processor provides an Enhanced Virus Protection security feature that will be enabled by the imminent Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2. This supports the NX (No Execute) command intended to shield systems against the 'buffer overflow' vulnerabilities that have plagued Windows over the past couple of years.

Both new processors are available immediately, with the Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor 3400+ priced at $432 and the Mobile AMD Athlon XP-M processor 2200+ priced at $97. These figures are based on 1,000-unit orders.

Alienware and Epson Direct are planning to offer notebooks based on the Mobile Athlon 64 3400+, while Averatec's C3500 Series will be the first to use a Mobile AMD Athlon in a tablet design.