AMD Reveals Tablet Processor Plans

By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 2/8/2012

Santa Clara, Calif. - AMD reported at its analyst meeting today it will strive to break into the tablet PC processor market with an ultra-low-voltage Hondo processor.

Lisa Su, AMD's global business unit senior VP and GM, said the company's roadmap for 2012 will include its Hondo ultra-low-power processor, less than 4.5 watts, that is intended for the tablet PC market.

Su did not go into any details of speeds for the new chip, but she AMD understands the need for a low-power processor for tablets and ultra-thin laptops. AMD is focusing on bringing its Accelerated Processing Unit concept to the low-power arena, she said, enabling better graphics playback on tablets and ultra thin laptops.

While a general product roadmap was unveiled a specific launch date was not mentioned. Su did hint Hondo would probably see the light of day whenever Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is launched.

AMD will enter a field dominated by Nvidia with its ARM-based designs and Intel, which is pushing hard to grab share in the tablet space.