14 DAY TRIAL // Advanced Micro Devices recently managed to gain some face when it finally brought forth a number of central processing units aimed at the mobile PC segment. Unfortunately, the product launch wasn't able to erase the many long months (if not years) that Intel had said market all to itself. This also means AMD missed out on the growth it could have experienced had it provided CPUs for netbooks when they first emerged.
Late last year, the general impression among market analysts was that netbooks will keep growing at the same rapid pace. This led to the planning of new operating systems and chips. Then, Apple launched the iPad and sold over two million in a relatively short time. Slates are already seen as a potential threat to the entry-level laptop market. Still, even despite this, AMD does not think tablets should be of immediate concern.
According to Digitimes, Advanced Micro Devices will wait until demand for slates truly rises. Meanwhile, it will keep focusing on the Bobcat CPU architecture. This architecture should be completed by early next year, which means that AMD-based netbooks will show up around the same time. Other endeavors that the Sunnyvale-based player will primarily concern itself with include the manufacturing of Fusion APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) and, of course, the making of DirectX 11-capable components meant to continue battling NVIDIA over control of the GPU segment.
The main reason given for this reluctance to move faster on the slate front is, according to the report, the fact that a complete ecosystem has not yet been formed and that AMD is still only one company. As it is, netbooks look like the more promising outlet, which is why Bobcat takes precedence. Finally, there are supposedly no plans for creating products meant for smartphones or consumer electronics.