The chief executives of Intel and Advanced Micro Devices indicated this week that competition will heat up in the market for sleek, inexpensive laptops running Windows 7.
Both CEOs addressed this new market during conference calls after their companies reported earnings this week. Ultrathin laptops are inexpensive, light laptops--typically between $500 and $800--that are sold in a market segment just above less expensive Netbooks.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini on Tuesday said his company is gearing up to supply more power-efficient chips that contain two processing cores for better performance. "The bulk of the units that have shipped to date were single-core versions of the products," Otellini said. "You'll see a number of laptops show up in retail with the dual-core versions for the holiday season...more ergonomically designed, thinner, lighter," Otellini said.
HP's Pavilion dm3 starts at $549 with an AMD processor and $649 with an Intel processor.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)And AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer chimed in on Thursday. "You'll hear more...next month about the product lineup that we'll be rolling out over the next two years, which will include increasing focus on those small form factor notebooks," Meyer said during AMD's conference call. In the more immediate future, Meyer said AMD will have a "broader assortment of (ultrathin) platforms walking into the Christmas cycle."
To date, this new category of laptops has had a minuscule market-share impact because there was little perceived difference between a Netbook and an ultrathin, according to Bob O'Donnell, IDC research vice president. "A lot of people said this is not actually that much faster, so you're going to see a very rapid transition to all dual-core," he said.
Windows 7 should accelerate sales too. "I think we will see better sales next year," O'Donnell said, as HP, Dell, and others bring out ultrathins with Windows 7.
The category received a boost recently with the rollout of HP's Pavilion dm3, which starts at $549 with an AMD processor and $649 with an Intel processor. The dm3 is expected to be available starting October 22 with the launch of the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
Other high-profile ultrathins include the $548 Acer Aspire Timeline (at Wal-Mart) and the $549 Dell Inspiron 13.
Because ultrathins are more expensive than Netbooks, they are more profitable for Intel. "Part of Intel's strategy is to pull people up from a Netbook," said O'Donnell.
AMD, on other hand, is focusing solely on the space "between Netbooks and mainstream notebooks," Meyer said, adding that AMD, in effect, created the ultrathin category with the introduction of the 12-inch HP Pavilion dv2 back in January. "We created that category really in partnership with the HP," Meyer said.
Updated at 11:10 a.m. PDT: adding Walmart dv2 laptop information.
Concerns about Advanced Micro Devices' future are being aired as the company celebrates a chip milestone.
HP Pavilion dv2 packs a low-power AMD chip. Can AMD compete effectively with Intel-based ultra-thins?
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)The chipmaker said Wednesday that it has shipped 500 million x86 (Intel-compatible) processors since the company's founding in 1969. And to celebrate, AMD is giving away four Hewlett-Packard dv2 ultra-thin notebooks based on its low-power Athlon Neo X2 chip. But the laptop giveaway, ironically, underscores one of AMD's challenges.
Doug Freedman, analyst at Broadpoint AmTech, said in a research note earlier this week that the dv2 laptop has "failed to ramp," meaning it has not gained much traction in the market. Best Buy, for example, though offering a range of other HP dv series laptop models, has not offered the dv2 to date. (Update: However, Walmart offers the dv2 laptop.)
But Freedman's comments are mild compared to what some other analysts are saying after AMD posted disappointing financial results Tuesday.
A blog on ZDNet Wednesday cited a few of the most negative comments. "AMD's tepid top-line results/guidance and weak margins suggest continued execution issues and potential share loss," said Goldman Sachs analyst James Covello.
And J.P. Morgan analyst Christopher Danely said: "We believe AMD is losing share to Intel due to inferior products and is being hurt by lack of a Netbook processor...We would note Intel processor sales outgrew AMD by 13 percent during 2Q09 and are expected to outgrow AMD by another 3 percent during 3Q09."
And, as the ZDNet blog points out, maybe the most damning comments come from JMP Securities Alex Gauna: "Another disappointing quarter from the perennial CPU also-ran," he said, referring to AMD's business of making central processing units (CPUs).
Gauna added that ARM chip technology may make AMD even less competitive down the road as future devices adopt these chips. ARM is a low-power chip design used by Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Apple, Samsung, and others.
Of course AMD doesn't see it this way. Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday that "new platform, microprocessor, and graphics introductions planned for the second half of 2009 position us well to improve (profit) margins and meet our financial goals for the year."
AMD also said Tuesday that during the second quarter Dell, HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems announced new servers based on the six-core AMD Opteron processor and that the ATI graphics unit introduced the first 40-nanometer desktop graphics processor, the first 1GHz graphics chip during the quarter, and held the first public preview of working silicon and drivers supporting Microsoft's upcoming DirectX 11 technology featured in Windows 7.
Hewlett-Packard was one of the early trendsetters in the ultrathin laptop market with its Voodoo design. But the product has languished for more than a year. What happened--or what will happen--isn't clear.
The ultrathin laptop market is hot and one of the most visible laptop segments today. And activity in this segment has spiked recently in the wake of a raft of new, inexpensive thin laptops from MSI, Acer, and Lenovo, using low-power Intel chips.
HP's Voodoo Envy was a trendsetting ultrathin laptop but it hasn't been updated in a year.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)The Apple MacBook Air and Dell Adamo are two of the most prominent designs. The Air has now been refreshed twice. Dell's svelte Adamo was announced in March, complementing its ultrathin business laptop, the Latitude E4200.
But the razor-thin 0.7-inch-thick Voodoo Envy 133--first announced in June 2008--has stood still. ... Read more
Updated at 5:15 p.m. PDT: correcting for AMD dual-core Neo in HP dv2 laptop and adding Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T discussion.
Advanced Micro Devices will debut its dual-core low-power Athlon chip technology on an updated laptop from Hewlett-Packard next week. This will be followed by "Congo" low-power silicon later this year.
HP will update its Pavilion dv2 laptop with a dual-core version of AMD's low-power Athlon processor
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)AMD is aiming its Neo technology at the ultra-thin laptop market. This is the same market that Intel has addressed for a long time with its ULV (ultra-low-voltage) chips. However, until very recently, laptops using Intel's ULV chips were expensive "executive jewelry," as Intel CEO Paul Otellini has described the segment. (Think: $2,000-and-up Sony Vaio TT or Toshiba Portege R600 laptops.)
That was then. Intel now targets its ULV silicon at inexpensive ultra-thin laptops. It's probably safe to say that AMD beat Intel to the punch (and got Intel's attention) when HP announced the 0.9-inch-thick, $700 dv2 laptop at CES in January, sporting the first Neo chip.
And the dv2 was more than a Netbook: it had a 12-inch screen, ran Windows Vista, packed ATI graphics, and came replete with a 320GB hard disk drive and 4GB of memory.
The updated HP Pavilion dv2 is expected to debut on June 10 with the dual-core Athlon Neo.
The dual-core Neo chip used in the updated HP dv2 (which is exclusive to HP) will be followed by AMD's Congo technology, due in the third quarter, which integrates AMD's HD3200 graphics, an improvement over the current "Yukon" platform. The all-important power envelope--that, after all, is what sets the technology apart from mainstream mobile silicon--of the whole package including the graphics is expected to be about the same as the first-generation Neo, according to AMD.
Other vendors will follow with low-power dual-core Congo chips later this year, according to AMD. The new silicon will be used in 24 designs across 11 different PC makers--though AMD says this list is expected to grow.
One of the challenges that AMD faces is benchmarks. This CNET review of the first HP dv2 laptop with the initial Neo chip said that though the "1.6 GHz Neo CPU MV-40 has enough processing power to run Windows Vista smoothly, something that has tripped up Intel-Atom-powered systems" when "running multiple apps simultaneously, none of these low-power, single-core CPUs were particularly impressive, and the Neo and Atom were essentially tied in our multitasking test. By way of comparison, a standard Intel Core 2 Duo ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor, as found in more expensive 12-inch laptops, easily beats them all."
Another challenge is power efficiency. Though a dual-core Neo chip should close some of the performance gap with Intel dual-core ULV chips, it remains to be seen what kind of battery life Neo delivers with two cores. AMD says the extra core only adds three watts over the current single-core 15-watt power envelope. The newest Intel-based ultra-thin laptops boast significantly better battery life than older Intel ULV laptops, with some models, such as the Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T, delivering up to eight hours on one charge.
Advanced Micro Devices' server roadmap is solid but its mainstream mobile lineup is languishing.
AMD's six-core "Istanbul" processor release was moved up to June
(Credit: AMD)First, the good news. These days AMD is walking the talk. This is a radical change from the AMD of 2007-2008, which always seemed to have a hopper full of Intel-vanquishing paper processors that, if they did materialize, disappointed.
Fast forward to AMD's Tuesday earnings announcement, when the company said it was actually moving up the introduction its most sophisticated processor, the six-core Istanbul, to June.
And AMD has proved its silicon mettle at large server customers such as IBM and Sun Microsystems--the latter's executive vice president John Fowler had nothing but praise for AMD processors in high-end Sun server systems.
In a "Global Webcast" on server technology Wednesday, Patrick Patla, a vice president in AMD's server and workstation business, revealed a strong roadmap, saying that 8- and 12-core "Magny-Cours" processors will appear in 2010. "We're currently working on new processors which we expect will deliver more than 35 times the performance of the original single-core AMD Opteron processor released in 2003," Patla said in a statement.
Intel, of course, will also bring out many-core processors, but AMD is keeping pace, and, according to people who should know, like Sun's Fowler, maybe more than keeping pace.
Now, the bad news. This post today on CNET's Crave blog says it all: "One of our biggest issues with HP's Pavilion dv3z was its AMD processor, keeping it from beating out the performance of comparable 13- and 14-inch laptops with Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs." This is, by no means, the first review that expresses this sentiment. In short, AMD mobile platforms consistently come up short in the high-profile, burgeoning laptop market. Will AMD close the gap in 2009?
Maybe one answer to that question is AMD's Neo chip that powers the low-cost, ultra-thin HP Pavilion dv2 laptop. More than a Netbook but less than a mainstream laptop, this kind of sleek mobile device could eventually eclipse the high-end Netbook segment.
AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said Tuesday that the single-core Neo processor will get a dual-core sibling dubbed "Congo" by summer. A dual-core processor in this low-cost, MacBook-Air-for-the-masses category is a compelling proposition. AMD needs to stay ahead of the game, especially when Intel brings out chips for this category in the May-June timeframe.
Advanced Micro Devices' chief executive predicts that Netbooks will eventually disappear. This thinking, though obviously favorable to AMD's strategy, isn't completely at odds with Intel's.
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The lightweight HP Pavilion dv2, which uses the AMD Neo processor, is marketed as a notebook
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)"The distinction between what is a Netbook and what is a notebook is going to go away," AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said Thursday in the company's earnings conference call.
"There will be a continuum of price points and form factors," he said.
"Given the way Netbooks are configured today, consumers who want a notebook at those kind of (low) price points have to compromise and as a result don't enjoy a full PC experience, particularly around the graphics and media capability of the machine," Meyer said. "And likewise people who wanted a thin and light machine had to pay a lot of money, typically well over a thousand dollars."
Upcoming inexpensive ultra-thin notebooks will meet the need for a small, thin, lightweight laptop that is more powerful than a Netbook, Meyer said.
This sentiment is actually backed up to some extent by Intel's recent behavior. Intel CEO Paul Otellini, in that company's earnings conference call last week, spoke oddly of Netbooks in the past tense. He said the buzz around Netbooks at the Consumer Electronics Show "validates our view that (the market) had a high potential for growth and it was an exciting segment, in particular in this kind of economic environment." (Emphasis added.) Otellini did add, however, that he expected Intel "would do very well in the Netbook market in the course of the next couple of years."
Whether his use of tense is just a way to refer to the Netbook market to date or a Freudian slip tied to Intel's intention to bring out new mainstream Core architecture chips for inexpensive thin notebooks later in the year, is not clear. This chip platform could potentially suck a lot of the enthusiasm out of the Netbook market.
And Intel has small plans for its Atom processor in 2009. Aside from a tiny increase in processor speed and a slight improvement in graphics, nothing big is slated for the platform. Is the demise of the Netbook market as we know it today something both AMD and Intel agree on? We'll see.
LAS VEGAS--Some notebooks and an un-Netbook are worth noting on the CES show floor Thursday.
From top to bottom: An Asus concept computer; the just-announced Asus S121 (officially not a Netbook) with an optional 512GB solid-state drive--yes, that's 512 gigabytes; HP's new Pavilion dv2 and dv3 powered by processors from Advanced Micro Devices, including its newest Neo silicon.
Asus was showing its fold/unfold concept at CES
(Credit: Brooke Crothers).jpg)
The just-announced 12-inch Asus S121 is "not" technically a Netbook but uses an Atom processor and a massive 512GB solid-state drive--the largest yet in any device
(Credit: Brooke Crothers).jpg)
HP Pavilion dv2 ultraportable (0.9 inches thick) uses AMD's new Neo silicon
(Credit: Brooke Crothers).jpg)
HP 13-inch Pavilion dv3 uses the AMD Turion processor
(Credit: Brooke Crothers)Updated at 11:05 p.m. PST with additional information throughout.
Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point.
AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series.
So what makes AMD's platform different? In one word, price. Ultraportables fall into the boutique category of laptops: very stylish, very slim, very light--and very expensive. Usually ranging between $1,500 and $3,000. HP's notebook with Athlon Neo silicon cuts the price in half. The Pavilion dv2 will start at $699 and top out at $899 for standard configurations.
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HP 12-inch Pavilion dv2 ultraportable starts at $699, at least half the price of traditional ultraportable notebooks like the MacBook Air, Toshiba Portege, and Sony Vaio TT series.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)The dv2, at 3.8 pounds, is slightly heavier than ultraportables that typically weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. It is 0.9-inches thick, slightly thicker than more expensive ultraportables like the MacBook Air.
But the Pavilion dv2 will pack features such as an AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 separate (discrete) graphics chip, a relatively large hard disk drive (HP lists drives up to 500GB), and a 12.1-inch LED screen. Features that differentiate it from Netbooks and put it squarely into ultraportable territory.
AMD Athlon Neo silicon details
(Credit: AMD)The dv2 will also come with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) options as well as standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Bahr Mahony, AMD's manager of mobile products, said in an interview that one of the few ultraportables available today with discrete graphics is the MacBook Air, but this starts at a whopping $1,800. (The Air uses Nvidia's GeForce 9400M graphics and Intel's Core 2 Duo low-voltage processors.)
The Athlon Neo platform can handle 1080p HD playback and a "casual" gaming experience with realistic 3D graphics, using the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics chip.
AMD's Athlon Neo processor--formerly code-named "Huron" under the platform codename "Yukon"--runs at 1.6GHz and has a power envelope of 15 watts, comparable to Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Core 2 Duo processors that power ultraportables today.
AMD's Neo does fall short in one respect, however. Currently it is only single-core, whereas Intel ULV processors are dual-core at a comparable power envelope, and, moreover, typically integrate 6MB level-2 cache memory to boost performance. AMD's Neo has only 512K of cache memory.
A dual-core chip, code-named "Conesus," will come in the second half of this year, according to AMD's Mahoney.
The first HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook is expected to be available from HP in the second quarter.
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