Technology

AMD Dismantles Rumors Of Buggy Puma Platform

The company's stock, however, got a kick in the gut

By Bogdan Botezatu, Hardware Editor

15th of February 2008, 07:55 GMT

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A technological analyst published a note claiming that the upcoming Puma mobile platform from AMD has some technical issues that would prevent it from showing up in mid-2008. However, Wall Street analysts

said that the "Puma" is bug-free, but original equipment manufacturers are skeptical about its reliability.

Analyst Doug Freedman of American Technology Research issued the report claiming that there might be some alleged problems with the platform. However, immediately after a conversation with the AMD officials, Freedman dropped the rumor, yet kept a cautious attitude.

The Puma platform is expected to kick in during the mid-2008. It is more than a refurbished mobile platform; it is built from ground up with mobility in mind. The platform is comprised of Advanced Micro Device's Griffin processor, the accompanying RS780M chipset, as well as the AMD SB700 southbridge. The technology cocktail will directly compete with Intel's mobile platform, a refreshed version of "Santa Rosa".

Technical issues aside, a failed or poor launch will leave the company with almost no cash to make a second attempt. Moreover, Freedman claims that a successful launch runs the risk that original equipment manufacturers and computer vendors won't be able to get the chips they need.

"We believe OEMs have contingency in place in case they run into issues releasing new Puma based products," Freedman said in his note on Thursday. "We believe a successful Puma launch could create a double-ordering scenario as OEM contingency plans would be unfulfilled, and as a result demand would fall short of order rates. We believe our estimate revisions yesterday are still in-line with our expectation for a slower Puma launch."

The bad news, however, will have a negative impact over the company's stock value. Freedman also claims that, if the Puma fails on the market, then the AMD management will be forced to step down or even sell the whole company, which is already in debt, after the ATI acquisition back in 2006. Possible buyers for the chip manufacturer are either graphics expert Nvidia, or the more powerful IBM.

TAGS:

AMD | Puma | Griffin

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