14 DAY TRIAL // Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices has recently announced the introduction of its new mainstream and ultra-thin notebook platforms, codenamed Tigris and Congo, respectively. In addition, the world's second largest chip maker has also announced the introduction of a new branding scheme, dubbed VISION Technology from AMD, designed to provide users with details on what they should expect when buying a new computer system. The move is part of AMD's plan to get closer to the consumer and provide solutions for the mainstream market, as well as for the increasing market for ultra-thin, ultraportable computer systems.
According to AMD, the Tigris platform, which has apparently been selected by eight OEMs, can provide users with up to a 25 percent longer battery life, compared with previous AMD mobile platforms, while offering support for full 1080p HD playback. Additional benefits of the new platform include the reported 62 percent faster wireless downloads and the 43-percent increase in speed for iPhone file conversions.
In addition to the new Tigris platform, AMD has also unveiled its second generation of ultra-thin notebook platforms, codenamed Congo. The new platform has been designed to provide customers with a multi-core performance, coupled with the ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics and a dual-channel memory controller. The platform also boasts a low-profile BGA package for the processors and an 800 MHz hyper-transport link.
With the launch of the new notebook platforms, AMD has also informed about its new VISION marketing scheme, which will see new computer systems rated according to their overall performance capability, providing users with an easier choice when purchasing a new PC.
“Today’s consumer cares about what they can do with their PC, not what’s inside,” Nigel Dessau, CMO of AMD, said. “They want a rich HD and entertainment experience on their PC, delivered by the combined technology of AMD CPUs and GPUs, without having to understand what gigahertz and gigabytes mean. VISION technology from AMD reflects the maturation of marketing in the PC processing industry and communicates the technology in a more meaningful way.”
The new VISION marketing looks similar to that of Intel's new processor-branding scheme, providing users with fewer details regarding the technical specifications of a product, but rather with info on what the said platform is meant to do. According to AMD, users will be able to choose from three levels of VISION-enabled configurations, including VISION Basic, VISION Premium and VISION Ultimate. Later on, in the first quarter of 2010, the chip maker promises to introduce a new level, called VISION Black, designed to define systems for computer enthusiasts.