AMD Ships New Mobile Athlon XP Chip

On Wednesday, Advanced Micro Devices launched an upgraded version of its Athlon XP-M mobile processor for notebooks. The 2100+ chip will be used by Fujitsu Computer Systems in a new LifeBook notebook.

While AMD has migrated most of its processor lineup to the 64-bit Opteron and Athlon 64 chips, the Athlon XP-M remains the flagship of its notebook product line. AMDs new chip actually fills in a hole at the lower end of AMDs Athlon XP-M chipm portfolio, which now covers processors ranging in speed from 1900+ to 2600+, according to AMDs web site. Previously, AMD had offered both a 2000+and 2200+ Athlon XP-M, but not a 2100+ chip.

“AMD continues to shake up the industry by putting cutting-edge technology in the hands of real people who want to work and play on the go,” said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager, of the Microprocessor Business Unit at AMD, in a statement. “With our low-power processors, PC manufacturers can pack heavyweight performance into lightweight notebooks.”

The new chip, priced at $97 in 1,000-unit lots, is available immediately.

Fujitsu Computer Systems announced it will upgrade its LifeBook S2000 notebook with a full-featured, thin and light model based on the new low-power mobile AMD Athlon XP-M processor 2100+. The new notebook will only be available in North America.

According to IDC, Fujitsu was the ninth largest notebook PC vendor in 2003, increasing its U.S. laptop shipments by 73 percent in the third quarter of 2003, compared to the same period a year ago.

Computer manufacturers in China and Taiwan plan to offer systems during the second half of this year, including BOE, Twinhead and Thunis (Tsing-Hua Unisplendor), AMD said.