14 DAY TRIAL // There is still some time before the PC community starts releasing AMD-powered tablets, but since the first ones have already appeared, the situation might call for a general description of these devices.
The chip that Advanced Micro Devices launched for tablets is called Z-60 and is also known by is codename, “Hondo.”
We won't rehash the entire spec sheet, since we covered everything of relevance when the processor first got released, at the start of the month (October 2012).
What we can do is outline what Advanced Micro Devices can offer that could sway prospective tablet buyers away from Intel and ARM models.
“AMD has to face off with both ARM and Intel as it tries to get in the tablet market. Microsoft is unveiling Windows 8 for x86 chips, which provides an avenue for AMD to compete,” said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research.
Superior graphics is one thing. As was shown to us during a private meeting at IFA 2012, AMD-powered tablets score much higher in graphics benchmarks than things like ASUS Transformer, or anything else reliant on NVIDIA Tegra 3 and Android.
Graphics aside, Core series-powered tablets from Intel beat AMD APU-based tablets in everything else, for the most part, but only by a narrow margin. AMD counters that with much lower prices.
Fujitsu's Q572 slate, unveiled the other day, should turn out to be a piece of evidence in support of this, although its price is still unknown.
Design should be an asset too. Z-60 tablets should make do with a thickness of up to 10 mm / 0.39 inches and 10.1 / 11.6 screen sizes.
Speaking of which, Full HD resolution is supported (1920 x 1200 pixels, 16:10), as is HD video playback (720p). The battery life will be of 6 hours video playback, 8 hours of web browsing.
Advanced Micro Devices will have between six and nineteen tablet design wins by January 2013. Some should debut next month (November 2012) and the rest are bound to show up at CES (Consumer Electronics Show).