AMD: Ultrabooks Will Have Hard Times Competing Against Apple MacBook Air

From X-bit Labs: Advanced Micro Devices does not consider Intel Corp.'s ultrabook initiative as an imminent success. The chip designer claims that the market of expensive laptops is dominated by Apple with its MacBook series and ultrabooks will have hard times competing against them. AMD believes that its own approach to offer different chips for inexpensive ultra-slim and multimedia-rich mainstream mobile computers is a very balanced one.

Traditionally ultra low-voltage ultra-portable notebooks were aimed at business users who need long battery life amid sufficient performance and functionality. Many of such ultra-portable computers are state-of-the-art pieces of engineering and employ the latest technologies to provide excellent reliability, stability, battery life, security and other qualities that have tremendous value for those on the road. Ultrabooks should essentially pack the same amount of features, be very responsive, stylish and cost less than $1000, according to Intel’s intentions.

Intel wants ultrabooks to employ its latest-generation microprocessors, use latest technologies available from other developers and still maintain relatively low costs. But AMD believes that there are many ways to address the market of ultra-portable mobile PCs: some may want extremely cheap netbooks with extended battery life and other may want to have powerful multimedia capabilities.

“We have been on the market with our ultra-thin strategy for some time. We have always believed there was a sweet spot in the market: the extreme sort of portability with beautiful aesthetic and very thin designs. […] We have Llano silicon solution today that delivers as good or better battery life than Intel and better all around visual experience. […] The Brazos platform [for low-cost systems] has been a runaway success for AMD,” said John Taylor, the director of client product marketing and software at AMD, in a brief interview with X-bit labs.

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