AMD Reveals Ultraportables

AMD could be entering the ultra-lightweight ring, even though the arena is already crowded. On Tuesday, at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan, AMD displayed working demonstration models of at least two sub-notebook designs. Earlier in the day competitors Asus, Acer, and MSI launched additional ultraportable units.

Component vendors Intel, NVIDIA, and VIA have talked a lot about their plans for mobile chip architecture in recent weeks, but the fully-functional AMD units displayed at Computex represent some of the first subnotebooks designed by a chip-maker. At this stage it is unclear whether AMD intends to get into the computer business, or whether it hopes computer manufacturers will buy into its new mobile designs.

The devices, one white and one black, run un-named AMD CPUs, though some have guessed that the chip is the Turion 64X2. The white model runs Linux and sports an ATI RS690 chipset, 1 gigabyte of RAM, and an 8.9-inch screen. The black unit runs Windows on a 7-inch screen (possibly a touch screen) and contains either a 60 or 80 gigabyte hard drive, as well as 1 gigabyte of RAM.

No pricing information is currently available for either model.