Meyer joined AMD in 1995 and was part of the design team responsible for the AMD Athlon processor. In 2006, he was appointed president and COO, and last year was elected to the board of directors.

Meyer said: "We are in the midst of reshaping AMD's business model with the goal of delivering sustained profitability through a focus on the core technologies that differentiate us. My immediate priority is to work with the leadership to accelerate this transformation."

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AMD had previously written down ATI's overall value by $1.6 billion in January, in a staggering reassessment that indicated the perception of ATI in the market had slipped dramatically.

Taken together, AMD has effectively said that ATI is now worth 44% less as a company than when AMD bought it.

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Centrino 2, codenamed as Montevina, is the most advanced laptop platform released by the world's largest semiconductor company, which promises higher integrated graphic performance as well as less power consumption.

The platform provides clearer 3D observation and high- definition (HD) viewing for Blu-ray playback in consumer laptops. Users can watch a two-hour HD movie with a single charge of laptop batteries. Moreover, the platform makes business laptops securer and easier to use.

Nearly 250 models of consumer and business laptops will soon come into the market, revealed Ian Yang, vice president of Intel Corporation, Intel's Sales and Marketing Group, and general manager of Intel China. Eight models of refreshed processors will also be promoted within the next three months, including the first model of four-core laptop processor.

Intel is said to fight Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) in the laptop field with Centrino 2. Last month, the latter released Puma, its next-generation laptop platform, which is a complete mobile platform with the help of third-party Internet access cards. After acquiring ATI Technologies, a manufacturer of chipsets and video cards for use in desktops, laptops, and TVs, AMD is able to add differentiated advantage to Puma.

Centrino 2's producers include Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: Dell), HP, Toshiba Corporation, while AMD teams up with Acer Inc., Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, NEC Corporation, Panasonic, and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. in the production of Puma.

Intel announced that Centrino 2 focused on HD capability, which is oppugned by insiders, because graphic processing has been AMD's long suit. In on-spot demonstrations of HD video playback, Centrino 2's CPU usage rate is around 30%, while AMD's mobile platform only has a rate of 10%.

In both independent and integrated graphics cards, Intel is facing challenges. The company relies on archrival AMD, and NVIDIA, a world leader in visual computing technologies, for technology support. AMD's 780G chipsets have monopolized the desktop market.

Moreover, Centrino 2 is unable to support WiMAX technology in a short term. Wireless modules bundled with the platform are not superior to those of Puma, which are produced by professional communications companies.

In 2008, the competition in the laptop market will focus on HD video and 3D games. Intel still has a long way to go in graphic processing.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.83)

From www.hexun.com, Page 1, Thursday, July 17, 2008
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