AMD Unveils Rival Laptop Chip
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices rose about five percent late Tuesday morning as the company unveiled a new chip that may drive down prices for portable computers and throw a challenge to rival Intel.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD (AMD) said it's shipping a microprocessor for laptop machines that operates at 300 megahertz, the same speed offered by Intel's (INTC) fastest chip for the portable computer market.
Shares of AMD rose 3/4 to 18 3/4. Intel fell 3/8 to 84 1/4.AMD said in a press release that customers for the new K6/300 processor for mobile computing include leading PC maker Compaq (CPQ). On Tuesday, Compaq introduced its new Presario 1250, the first notebook computer with the new chip.
The K6-300 will cost about $229 vs. the $637 for Intel's 300-megahertz Pentium II. Computers based on the Intel chips sell for more than $3,000, while AMD projected costs of $1,999 to $2,499 for K6-based portable computers.
"The superior price for the performance benefits that desktop system users have embraced with AMD-K6 processors are now available in our family of processors for mobile computing," S. Atiq Raza, AMD executive vice president and chief technical officer, said in a statement.
"We plan to offer a full line of mobile processor solutions from entry-level to the high end."
Written By Steve Gelsi