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Puma uses a 65 nanometre Turion Ultra dual-core processor and an ATI Radeon HD 3000 Series GPU.

Fujitsu-Siemens, Acer, Packard Bell, Asus, Toshiba and MSI are all launching laptops on the platform, with Packard Bell announcing that it will exclusively use AMD's discrete graphics.

AMD is touting the Puma platform's high performance at multi-tasking as the distinguishing factor over Intel's Santa Rosa platform, which Shopper will soon put to the test.

The company

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says it is also making an effort to bring a sense of simplicity back to the market, and admits the processor landscape is becoming convoluted. "When you walk into somewhere like Dixons, it is really confusing, I don't know how people can make up their mind, other than through recommendations from a friend," said Leslie Sobon, director of product and brand management.

However, instead of being a brand to rival Intel's Centrino, 'Puma' is only a codename, while three new branding logos: 'AMD Game', 'AMD Business' and 'AMD Live', will be used to give consumers some idea of the product they're purchasing. Nevertheless, AMD admits that, ultimately, all branding decisions will still remain in the hands of its OEM partners, giving little comfort to perplexed consumers.

Sobon also revealed that AMD will be launching its 45 nanometre chips in the latter half of 2008. "We're in sampling stages. Everything is looking very good and we're on track to meet our commitment, which is to begin shipping 45 nanometre parts by the back end of this year," she confirmed.