AMD Has No Plans for Geode Successor

After having declared that the netbook market wasn't going to be all that different from the fully-fledged notebook market, Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices has recently decided that it will shift its focus and resources to its more mainstream chip lineup, consequently eliminating any potential efforts that would have been put into the development of the company's low-power Geode chips. Apparently, the chip maker doesn't plan any successor to its current Geode chips, as it will probably phase out the product as soon as there is no more demand for it.

 

AMD's spokesman, Phil Hughes said that, “There are no plans for a follow-on product to today's available AMD Geode LX products, but we expect to make this very successful processor available to customers as long as the market demands.” What this basically means is that AMD isn't planning to use its Geode chips to compete with similar products provided by its competitors, such as VIA and Intel. The Geode chip isn't likely to compete in the fast-growing market of low-cost portable computer systems.

 

When first released, the Geode chip was considered a true alternative to low-power computing, providing features and performance levels similar to those achieved by today's netbook chips. It was used in those XO laptops designed for the One Laptop Per Child project, probably one of the first portable computer systems to be considered a netbook.

 

Unfortunately, AMD appears to be considering the Geode a considerably older architecture, which is why it doesn't see it as a reliable product for the emerging market. No matter the reasons, it looks as if the Geode is now living the last of its days, as the chip maker isn't planning any successor.

 

As far as the low-cost laptop market goes, AMD has already introduced a new platform, featuring its new Athlon Neo chips, which can enable system builders to create low-cost and thin portable systems. These chips will likely compete with higher-performance Atom chips due to be released by Santa Clara, California-based Intel.