Posts tagged with HD video
Does only AMD love the HP Pavilion dv2?
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 8:43 AM
(21 votes, average: 3.95 out of 5)
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AMD is excited about the HP Pavilion dv2 powered by AMD “Yukon” platform, as evidenced by many of our communications. Obviously HP is excited, as it’s their baby. 
On the blog front, Nigel, Casey, and I have written accounts of our personal HP dv2 experiences. But, is this just an AMD love affair with its own stuff, or do others share the enthusiasm?
I kindly asked the PR team to provide me with some of the reviews and headlines, and it appears that many agree with our assessments.
Here are the highlights, and I recommend visiting the sites to get the full download. I have separated the reviews into the following segments: Blu-ray experience, HD video capabilities, gaming experience, content creation capabilities, and AMD and HP’s new category creation:
Blu-ray Experience
ComputerShopper: HP Pavilion dv2-1030us, John Delaney
- “We were also impressed with the system’s video-handling prowess; the ATI graphics did a good job of delivering smooth playback of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on Blu-ray.”
SlashGear: HP dv2 and Blu-ray preview, Steven Grady
- “The dv2 is running Vista Home Premium, and plays Blu-ray movies beautifully on the display. The dv2 has an HDMI port for making it easy to use the dv2 as your home Blu-ray player with your HDMI television…”
CrunchGear: HP’s new external Blu-ray driver is sleek as hell, Devin Coldeway
- “The Blu-ray drive that will be coming with the HP dv2 “ultra-slim” notebook is looking really nice. It’s shiny, gorgeous, and incredibly thin. I thought I better get some pictures of this sexy accessory up so you guys know how HP rolls with this new stylish line of not-netbooks-but-not-notebooks.”
HD Video Capabilities
Notebookreview.com: HP Pavilion dv2 Review, Jerry Jackson
- “If you want to connect your laptop to your HDTV and watch 1080p video, the dv2 can handle it.”
JKOntherun.com: HP dv2 on a Road Trip: First Impressions, Kevin Tofel
- “I mentioned HD video playback before. I decided to download and view some 720p content before closing out this post. Hitting up the Microsoft WMV HD Content Showcase, I downloaded the “Super Speedway” video; something I wouldn’t even bother doing with a netbook. I expected playback to be superb and the dv2 didn’t disappoint. It was a joy to watch: I couldn’t detect any stutter or dropped frames.”
JKOntherun.com: HPdv2 Battery Tests Illustrate Compromise of Power vs. Performance, Kevin Tofel
- “Of course, the intent and design of this device is to do just that: you can’t effectively enjoy high quality video on a netbook. And while you can watch high-def media on other notebooks at this price, they’ll generally weigh more and/or have a bigger footprint.”
Gaming Experience
TGDaily: The netbook-killing HP dv2, Rob Enderle
- “The product feels high quality and the graphics performance exceeds anything else short of a gaming box that I’ve had in this year.”
Notebooks.com: HP Pavilion dv2 Unboxed, First Impressions, Xavier Lanier
- “the Pavilion dv2 is the first notebook that’s based on AMD’s Yukon platform, which combines an Athlon Neo processor with ATI Mobility Radeon HD3410 graphics. The result is a computer that can be used to watch high-definition video and handle some 3D games.”
SlashGear: HP dv2 and Blu-ray preview, Steven Grady
- “it has been promised to me that the dv2 will game with the best of them, thanks to the ATI graphics card. Fear 2, Call of Duty: World at War and others are said to run amazingly well on this tiny device, showing the capability of a good GPU paired with a less power-intensive processor.”
Notebooks.com: HP Pavilion dv2 Game Demo: Call of Duty World at War, Xavier Lanier
- “The HP Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable notebook that’s affordable, but has enough graphics muscle that users can enjoy video games….”
Content Creation Capabilities
PC Magazine: HP Pavilion dv2 (1030us), Cisco Cheng
- “So how did the Neo processor fare against the Atom in actual testing? The dv2, with its Neo processor, showed its muscle in video encoding tests, outperforming the Atom-powered Asus 1000HE by 20 seconds and the Mini 12 by 1 minute, 18 seconds. It was the only one that completed Photoshop CS4 tests, finishing in 1 minute 49 seconds (the Dell 12 did not complete the test and the 1000HE’s resolution was too low to even run the test.”
- “In terms of raw horsepower, the Neo clearly has an advantage over Atom.”
Notebookreview.com: HP Pavilion dv2 Review, Jerry Jackson
- “If you want to edit high-resolution images in Photoshop while you’re on vacation, the dv2 can handle it.”
ComputerShopper: HP Pavilion dv2-1030us, John Delaney
- “Compared with other netbooks, the dv2 performed brilliantly, scoring a class-leading 1,261 on our Cinebench 10 benchmark, while the Atom-based Dell Inspiron Mini 12 and Asus N10Jc came in at 718 and 774, respectively.”
Creating the New Affordable Ultrathin Category
PC World: Netbook or Ultraportable: Which is Best for the Job?, James Martin
- “DV2 blurs the lines between netbook and ultraportable more than most portable computers. That’s just $120 more than a high-end HP Mini 2140 netbook, which can’t compare to the dv2’s more robust specs.”
TechNewsWorld: The Death and Rebirth of Silicon Valley, Rob Enderle
- “By creating a hybrid between a netbook and a notebook, the DV2 falls into an interesting product gap. It isn’t as small as a netbook, it is vastly less expensive than a small notebook, it has more performance than many notebooks have (let alone netbooks) and it still costs under US$750.”
JKOntherun.com: HP dv2 Runs the CrystalMark Benchmark Gauntlet, Kevin Tofel
- “The AMD Neo platform is squarely targeted between the netbook market and traditional notebooks. You can get traditional notebook performance in a near-netbook sized package: call it a more portable package than a standard notebook, but not as anemic as a netbook.”
ZDNet: HP Pavilion dv2: Netbook or Notebook?, Jennifer Bergen
- “If Goldilocks was in the market for a laptop, she might pick the new HP Pavilion dv2. It’s not too big, and not too small. It sits between the large and expensive notebooks, and the small-screened netbooks – it’s just right.”
TGDaily: The netbook-killing HP dv2, Rob Enderle
- “As it was designed to be, this is a product that falls within the price range of netbooks and provides capabilities that exceed many $2000 products.”
Notebookreview.com: HP Pavilion dv2 Review, Jerry Jackson
- “The HP Pavilion dv2 satisfies an important need that low-cost netbooks never could.”
Tom’s Hardware: HP Launches Pavilion dv2 Notebook for $749, Jane McEntergart
- “At $749 it’s more expensive than a netbook and more in the range of an ultra portable; a great option for those who’ve realized that a netbook won’t cut it when it comes to anything more than classes, business trips, Facebook or browsing.”
The feedback wasn’t perfect, and that’s expected, as some raised points of question about the dv2’s battery life and fan.
So, all in all, a very good showing for the HP dv2 in regards to the Blu-ray experience, HD video capability, gaming experience, and content creation capabilities; all in a new category created by AMD and HP. The affordable ultrathin. And it’s nice to know that we weren’t the only ones extolling the virtues of the dv2. The best part about it is that AMD’s ultrathin platform roadmap only begins here, and it even gets better, in the form of the “Congo” platform planned for release in 2H09. I will see you then!
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
The Significance of HD Palmcorders to Netbook and Notebook Design
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 2:12 AM
Low-priced, 720P HD pocket camcorders (palmcorders) are gaining market momentum and I believe consumers are drawn to the value proposition of low cost, high quality, portable, and convenient video capture and playback. As these devices proliferate, it leaves me contemplating how consumers will respond when they discover just how many of these notebooks or netbooks can’t effectively play back that content. Whether or not low end notebooks or netbooks were designed to do this isn’t relevant, as a recent NPD blog posting (citing new research) may suggest.
The Cameras
Let’s start with the cameras. I evaluated three different models, Flip MinoHD ($179), Kodak Zi6 ($148), and the Aiptek 1080 ($159). These cameras capture HD video at 720P resolution and 30-60 fps at around 10-12Mbps, which I consider mid-level HD video. Compare this to your typical Blu-ray movie peaking between 20 to 40 Mbps.
Compared to higher end HD camcorders priced into the $1,000s, many features have been removed like branded lenses, large magnification, optical image stabilization, night vision and auto-focus, just to name a few. In comparing between HD pocket camcorders, the differences are found in battery life, image capture quality, external display size, memory upgradability, and physical size.
Pervasiveness
To quickly gauge pervasiveness in the U.S., I sometimes use Best Buy shelving as a proxy indicator. In my last trip to my local Best Buy, these new class of cameras had 7 slots of shelf space, which is significant. Some models that use the lowest-cost clamshell packaging are even sold at Wal-Mart and Target next to $20 JPEG picture key chains and USB flash drives. In addition, many influential bloggers are picking up on these new HD cameras, which is sometimes a good indicator of future popularity. Amazon.com is an “OK” indicator and these new HD palmcorders are relatively high in sales rank.
The Problem
As I see it, the problem is simple…. videos from these new cheap cameras won’t play well on many of the new inexpensive net/notebooks. If new research from the NPD blog is a future indicator, most consumers won’t know the capability tradeoffs between netbooks, low end notebooks and full capability (HD capable) notebooks. This could spell some real disappointment for users who may expect decent playback. In my testing on a typical netbook or real low end notebook, I get around 7 fps – close to a slide show. Think of it this way – the HD palmcorder is smaller and cheaper than any netbook. Is it logical to assume the consumer will know that the video from the palmcorder can’t play on the bigger, more expensive netbook?
Different Solution Approaches
I suggest there are a few different ways that OEMs can solve these problems. They can:
1) Provide greater CPU power to decode the 720P HD video. This may also increase the heat, the fan noise and lower the battery life as well. (High end dual core CPU)
2) Provide an effective graphics solution that efficiently decodes, filters, and color corrects the image. (i.e: AMD 780G, ATI Mobility Radeon™3000, and competing solutions)
3) Provide a special decode chip that’s expensive and bounded to specific software. (i.e: discrete accelerator)
AMD’s Approach
Our approach is simple: apply the most efficient silicon to the challenge. In this usage scenario, the most efficient way is to decode the HD video with the GPU. Inside the GPU are special silicon blocks and special quality filters that are optimized for this function. We call this our UVD or Unified Video Decoder. It accelerates decoding of VC-1, H.264, and MPEG2 video and offloads the CPU for other tasks. UVD also applies quality filters against the video to make it look better, when using a supported player like Cyberlink 8. The result is amazing. Very low CPU utilization, keeping the system cool and very high quality image thanks to the filters provided by ATI Avivo™ technology.
Implications
If you accept that users will increase their consumption of HD video on their notebooks, disappointment for many will follow with low, ~7 fps HD experience or apply an appropriate GPU to execute the task. Another alternative is to invest resources educating consumers on the difference in capabilities between netbooks, low end notebooks, and fully capable notebooks. With the economy and budgets the way they are, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Real-World Efficiency in Action
I want to highlight my favorite example. The new HP dv2 notebook (based on AMD’s “Yukon” platform technology for ultrathin notebooks) uses a superscalar AMD Athlon Neo ™ processor paired with ATI Radeon™ X1250 integrated graphics and optional ATI Radeon ™ HD 3410 discrete graphics to deliver not only full frame-rate HD video from these new HD palmcorders, but also higher end Blu-ray movies.
Conclusion
AMD has already anticipated the importance of HD video in multiple forms: low cost HD pocket camcorders discussed above, Blu-ray movie capabilities, and of course, some downloaded content. And we have responded with technologies that are in-market today. Big question remains: where does that leave netbook owners who expected their netbook to work with their even-smaller and less expensive HD palmcorder, even if that was “never the design intent”? It leaves them stranded on a non-HD island. Hopefully they have a second HD-capable PC at home, but if the NPD data is an indicator, they may not….
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Archos 7: The Best Portable Media Player You’ve Never Heard Of
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 4:09 AM
(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)Everyone has heard of an iPod, most have heard of the iPod touch, and some of you may have even heard of the Zune or even ZEN, but how about an Archos? Well, if you haven’t, you should check it out, because if you get into watching video, in my opinion, it may be the best personal media player sold. Over the holidays, I got the chance to use the Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet (IMT), a portable media player, and I wanted to tell you about my positive experiences.
Quite simply, the Archos 7 IMT is a portable device that plays a wide variety of videos, music, and pictures and displays them either on its large 7″ touch-screen or through a docking station to your HDTV. Media can be pulled from the device’s hard drive, an external USB hard or flash drive, your personal LAN, and the internet. You can also surf the REAL internet given support for many Flash 9-based sites and finally, do full POP/IMAP email with attachments.
The Plusses
7″ Screen: At 3X the viewing area1 and 2.5X the resolution2 of the iPod touch, movies are viewable within feet, not inches from your eyes and, more than one person can view at a time. I admit, I watch videos on my touch on an airplane about five inches from my eyes when there’s no alternative, but that’s about it. For web surfing, this means you can actually read all columns and characters on sites like MyYahoo, CNN, Drudge Report and NYTimes. It’s cool on the touch, but there’s no need to pinch, squeeze, tilt, etc…. you just see it. To give you a sense of proportionality to the iPod touch, I normalized on the word “Travel” in the photo below:
LAN media streaming: Sure, the Archos 7 has a massive 160-320GB storage capability, but if you are massively into video, odds are that this still won’t be enough storage. That’s OK, because the Archos lets you wirelessly stream content via UPnP and even log into networked PCs and gain access to their content. I also streamed content over the web using AMD LIVE! On Demand software which can be configured to “automagically” recode your content based on our local circumstances like bandwidth. So don’t worry about not getting access to terabytes of family video and photos, just leave it on your home server. I accessed content from my AMD processor-based HP MediaSmart Server and my new hand-crafted, pre-released AMD Phenom™ II processor desktop system.
320GB Hard Drive: At 10X the storage of the 32GB on my touch, it’s no contest. You can also get an Archos 7 with and 160GB drive if you want to save $100. I moved over 10 years of pictures, 20 years of music, and my favorite videos and pictures in FULL resolution, not derezzed like many media players require you to do to fit.
HDTV Input/Output and DVR: With this optional docking stand (called “DVR Station”) , you can project videos on your TV at up to 720P and up to 5.1 audio. And of course, :> you can also record video to your Archos at 640×480 from your satellite box, DVR, cable box and even a VCR (DRM permitting…). On the side of the stand, there is also a USB port where you can plug in USB 2.0 hard drives or flash memory sticks. To control the unit from 10″, Archos ships a remote control. It took me a while to master its “unique” design, but once I did, I could even quickly surf the internet with it on my 120” projector or 50” HDTV.
Wide content format support: I don’t like the CODEC wars and you shouldn’t either, as it just limits everything and is a real pain in the rear. It played almost everything I threw at it. Although it doesn’t officially support Divx, I was able to play a few clips. I wasn’t able to test every CODEC and wrapper, but the Archos web site states the following support:
Video support (from Archos web site)- “MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution). WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) including WMV protected files, M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in QVGA resolution. With optional plug-in (downloadable from your tablet on www.archos.com): HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p), H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC, MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1)”
If you are serious about your video quality, I would recommend recoding your video into the highest resolution and bit-rate the Archos supports. You may even need to de-res any 1080I/P videos. Alternatively, if you want the maximum video storage on your system, I would recommend testing different formats, resolutions, and bit-rates that look “good enough” to you. Remember, though, that you may be projecting the video to your HDTV, which is a lot larger than 7″.
To recode all that video, I recommend a high-frequency, quad-core desktop system powered by a processor like the AMD Phenom II X4 processor. I overclocked my newly-built pre-released Phenom II processor-based system to 3.8 GHz from its stock 3.0 GHz on a stock AMD heat-sink without even trying hard and saw large improvements in recode time.3 On the software side, I like to keep it simple with Nero or even simpler with Movavi. Smarter people than I in the office prefer to use higher-end packages like Sony Vegas or even Adobe CS3/CS4.
Audio support (from Archos web site)- “Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV (PCM/ADPCM), AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station), Flac and OGG Vorbis audio files. With optional software plug-ins (downloadable from your tablet on www.archos.com): unprotected AAC, AAC+ stereo audio files.”
Kick-stand: It’s simple… you want to put the Archos on a flat surface like a desk or airline tray, just pop the metal stand out of the back and you are viewing or listening at a 45 degree angle.
Easy content transfer: Adding music, videos, and pictures is about as easy as it gets…. add your music to the device’s “music” folder, add your videos to the “video” folder, and add pictures to the “pictures” folder on the device. That’s so much easier than the touch, where I need to typically reformat the family video to an touch-supported format, import into iTunes, add to a playlist, then finally synch the touch.
Stereo speakers: I rarely listen to music on my touch without a speaker-bay, but you can with the Archos. It has built-in stereo speakers that were surprisingly clear and louder than many notebooks sold today.
Battery life: The Archos web site states 39 hours of music or 10 hours of video (at low backlight.) The iPod touch states on their web site 36 hours of music and 6 hours of video. On the Archos, I personally got more like 5 hours of video with a bright back-light, still very good for such a large 7″ display and 320GB drive.
Mixed Emotions
Application support: I bought the Archos 605 WiFi model last year and there are no new “Widgets” published since then. The following widgets were pre-installed: weather, contacts (vcards), calculator, currency converter, RSS reader, note taker, and a unit measurement converter. If one can access the “real” internet, why does one need 500 widgets? Well, besides games, you may not, but isnt the iTunes App Store fun? It would be real hard to live without apps like pour1out, Lightsaber, Kai Pond, or MazeFinger….. or on my G1 apps like Bubble, Compare Everywhere, and Flashlight. :>
The Minuses
Occassional lockups: Sure, I get these on my PCs, my Macs, my DVRs, my mobile phones, and my routers. But on the Archos I got them more often, particularly while using the 802.11b/g wireless.
Movie content service: CinemaNow is the only major provider where you can rent or buy movies. I don’t want all my subscription services all over the universe and I already buy video from Time Warner, NetFlix, iTunes, Movielink and BlockBuster, and I don’t want any more content that i can’t play on all my devices. I am sick of it and I protest.
Time to internet from standby: When I use devices like the iPod touch or the Archos, I use it sporadically, sending it automatically into sleep. I have become spoiled at how quickly the iPod touch turns on and connects to the internet…..about 3 seconds. The Archos takes about 20 seconds….5 seconds to turn on and 15 seconds to connect to the internet. I didn’t notice it until I realized how good the touch was, so maybe you won’t notice it, particularly as once it is “on” there are no issues.
Summary
My favorite features of the Archos were the 7″ screen, the media streaming capability from my home server, “open” video formats, and the gigantic 320GB hard drive. You can get the more compact Archos 5 IMT as low as $349 with a 4.8″ screen / 60GB hard drive and up to the top of the line Archos 7 IMT for $549 with a 7″ screen / 320 GB hard drive. You can also get the 160GB Archos 7 for $449, only $50 more than the $399 3.5″ / 32GB iPhone touch.
If you are really into video playback, want a large screen, want portability but don’t need to put it in your coat pocket, and want to display high-quality video to an HDTV, I would highly recommend looking at the Archos 7 Internet Media Tablet. That is, of course, if you don’t need ultra-portability or can’t live without iTunes or apps like Kai Pond or LightSaber. :> If you have a favorite portable media player, I would love to hear which one and why.
1) Viewing area; Archos 7: 15.64 in2; Apple iPhone touch 3.91 in2 (4:3. 1.33:1, NTSC)
2) Resolution: Archos 7: 800×480 pixels=384,000 pixels; Apple iPhone touch: 480×320 pixels=153,600 pixels
3) AMD’s PRODUCT WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY OVERCLOCKING, EVEN WHEN OVERCLOCKING IS ENABLED VIA AMD SOFTWARE.
Note: There is no business relationship between Archos and AMD.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
My Perfect Mini-Notebook
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 9:02 AM
One great thing about blogs is that it is anyone and everyone’s chance to express their opinions, and I definitely have opinions. :> However, attacking one’s personal experiences is a bit like questioning free speech or democracy, but that’s exactly what makes Web 2.0 so exciting, everyone does it. So even when I get misquoted (never called it “useless”) in news stories based on what I said in a video concerning netbooks (should be hard to get wrong, I know), it generates discussion on the pros, cons, and on-the-road experiences of various netbook and mini-notebook designs. And after talking with various sources, it has already impacted future thinking, which is ultimately good for consumers, channels, OEMs, and ODM’s.
After testing seven netbooks (1) over the last five months, I now know what I want to see in future designs. This may not be the same for all 6,699,999,999 people on earth, but perhaps for a handful or two of likeminded people.
One caveat: I don’t expect a single mini-notebook design to be able to meet both my usage models:
- One inside the home focused on entertainment
- One outside the home focused on portability
My ideal at-home mini-notebook
I would like to carry my mini-notebook from room-to-room, plugging it in via HDMI to the next best available flat panel TV in the home. It would also be great to wirelessly stream 1080i video content off the web or my home server, which would benefit from HD graphics decode capability, wireless-N, and the capability to externally project at 1920×1080i resolutions. A simple, Gyration-style wireless remote should come standard to easily navigate content from 10’.
For web surfing, I would like the peace of mind that my system could support the next-generation of Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight technology, so it doesn’t become a paperweight in 6 months. This means the processor and native panel screen size must be up to par. Kids’ sites like Webkinz, the “World of Warcraft for kids,” today requires at least 1024×768 (tomorrow, maybe 1280×1024) internal panel sizes, and I need at least enough CPU performance to prevent pauses in the action. Try running Hulu HD, an Apple HD trailer, or iTunes HD TV shows on a netbook and you will know what I am talking about. A 13” panel would really optimize the viewing experience when not connected to an external display.
Battery life isn’t that important at home, but a couple hours would be reasonable, along with a retractable power cord. Weight isn’t as important unless you have difficulty carrying a few pounds room to room. If that’s the case, I would recommend a lifetime membership to Gold’s Gym. Hard drive size isn’t as important because I can leverage the hard drive space on my home server, but I still want at least 160GB for applications or DRM-based content loads in case I need to take it on a family trip.
On games, While I don’t expect to play Crysis on highest quality settings, I would expect to be able to play a game like Spore and the Sims 2 at 30 fps (frames per second) and decent quality settings.
My ideal away-from-home mini-notebook
Outside the home is all about portability features and much less about entertainment. Battery life, size and weight become absolutely paramount in defining an “acceptable” bar level of performance.
Like the “at home” netbook, I still want my version to be able to effectively run today’s and at least one future generation of web applications at resolutions no less than 1024×768. I don’t think that is asking too much, is it? Also, I could live with less than a 10” display.
Eight to nine hours battery life (which we know really means five to six browsing hours) would be optimal, as I probably wouldn’t even need to bring a power cord for the day. If I don’t need to bring my power cord with me every time I go outside the house, then having a larger, possibly less expensive and faster charging power brick would be OK. This only makes sense if it saves money on the BOM cost because those tiny power adapters are cool.
As I said, if I’m going to need to lug this everywhere, weight is a huge factor and at 1.5 to 2 lbs, this seems plenty light enough. Also, the closed height cannot exceed ¾”, which would make it thicker than a Mac Air, but thinner than the Asus Eee PC Surf 4G, allowing for easy storage in a glove box or even in my bedroom drawer.
On the WAN communications side, I want to insert my SIM chip into my mini-notebook from my BlackBerry and get the same speedy, instant-on communications features I have had for years. Sure, I could tether, but if you are redesigning something, why settle for “good enough?” I don’t want to wait for 4G to do something useful or fun and could live with 3G or even, gasp, EDGE. Why should I have to pay for service twice? I know Pat, grow up, this is business… :>
Hard drive storage is a bit more important with this design because I wouldn’t have speedy access to large amounts of quick storage on my home server. Sure, I could use one of those “in-the-cloud” services, but until someone invents a more reliable synchronization tool, I will keep my documents and iTunes and Movielink content on my system, snugly fit on a 320GB hard drive. I have been keeping my “life” on MyYahoo for years, including my contacts, notes, calendar, and email, but documents and content are different.
As I would want to use this in my car, GPS and high bandwidth Bluetooth must be standard. The GPS is obvious, as I could use it as a mapping tool. I would like to use the higher bandwidth Bluetooth to gain access to my car speaker system and also pump audible navigational signals as well. Of course, if this thing serves as the nerve center for my car, I need some type of standard docking mechanism that delivers power with ease of attachment so I can take it in the house when I am home from work. I know, I am asking a lot.
So that is what I want in my mini-notebook. A bit different I know, but did you expect anything less? And if you are wondering why I didn’t call it a “netbook”, well I want to more than just the “net.”
With that, I would like to hear your thoughts on what your dream mini-notebook would look like.
1) Asus Eee PC 4G, Asus Eee PC 900, MSI U100, Dell Inspiron 910, HP 2133, Geode reference design, Asus Eee PC 1000H.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Unlocking Some Secrets of the Android G1 Video Capabilities
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 9:17 AM
In my last blog, I covered my first experiences with T-Mobile’s G1 Android-based phone. I liked it, but could learn to love it if the promise of open-source software comes true. One of the drawbacks I saw on Day 1 was the lack of a video player to playback videos on the phone, and I would like to provide an update to that. I will provide the good news, the bad news, and then provide some suggestions on how to improve the situation.
The Good News
The good news is that on Day 2, one day after launch, a video player became available on Android Market, right off the phone. Android Market says “Video Player 1.0” comes from a chap named “Jeff Hamilton”, and states that, the “File should be MPEG4 or 3GPP with H.264 or H.263 video and MP3, AAC, or AMR audio. Videos need to be 480×352 or smaller to play back properly.” This is a good start, but not the whole equation.
The Bad News
The bad news is that if anyone has played around moving video onto mobile devices, there are a lot more variables you need to know to make the video play well. For example, video bit rate, profiles (ie baseline, simple), and frames per second are important. For the audio inside the video file, sample frequency, bit rate, and channels are key.
The Apple iPhone provides all this data. As an example, data from the iPhone’s technical specifications page clearly states:
“Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats .”
While to many, this sounds like gibberish, whoever wants to put their own content (not purchased from iTunes, like family videos) it gives you enough to work from.
The Android G1 didn’t have any of these detailed support statements, which provided a medium-sized challenge. :>
Some Suggestions
After some hunting on the internet and about 12 hours of my own testing this weekend, I found some interim solutions that I hope can help.
The first thing you need is a program out there that can convert video from one specification to another specification. For example, you want to take video from your digital camcorder and put it on your Android G1, you must change the format of the file and key specifications (listed above) inside the file. Software packages come in a wide range from consumer, to prosumer, and to professional versions, priced from free to $600, and everything in-between. I use Movavi Video Converter, Nero 8 Recoder/Vision, Pinnacle Studio, and sometimes Sony Vegas for tasks like this, but it’s your choice.
So below, please find what worked for me:
· Apple nano-optimized setting: If you have any videos already in iPod nano-optimized format, most of mine worked OK, but the quality wasn’t as good because the nano has a smaller 320×240 screen.
· IPod generic video down-scaled settings: Take that profile and reduce some of the quality settings: 426×240 pixels, progressive, MPEG4 L1, 350-600 Kbps, 30fps, AAC audio, 48 KHz.
· IPod Generation 5 video down-scaled settings: 426×240 pixels, progressive, MPEG4 L1, 300-900 kbps, 30fps, AAC audio 48 kHz.
· MPEG 4 home-made brew: .mp4 format, 480×320 pixels, MPEG 4 Simple profile, 384 kbps, 25 fps, AAC audio, 22050 sample frequency, 64 kbps bit rate.
· H.264 home-made brew: .mp4 format, 480×320 pixels, H.264 Baseline, 384 kbps, 25 fps, AAC audio, 22050 sample frequency, 64 kbps bit rate.
So there we have it, video on your Android G1. One thing I failed to mention here is that most of this video recoding requires a heavy-duty processor. Of all the packages I tried, all but one heavily taxed all four cores of my AMD Phenom ™ X4 9950 processor, some up to 100%. So don’t skimp on CPU performance, it matters on video encoding. Having moved from a dual core to quad core CPU configuration was one of the best upgrades I made at home.
I hope this is helpful and I would love to hear about your suggestions.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Should the PC Be Worried about the Best DMA To Date?
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 7:06 AM
I have believed for years that if someone with just minor technical understanding wants to watch their digital videos or photos on their big-screen TV, the PC is still the best choice. Question is, how close are we getting to the DMA (Digital media adapter) catching up to the PC?
After years of personal testing, sifting through mounds of secondary research and sitting through the research glass watching consumers, I have become very opinionated about the best DMA (Digital Media Adapter) to connect to a TV or flat panel for watching videos and pictures. Yes, I have tried a mountain of DMAs in my own home: D-Link DSM-520, Linksys DMA2200, Apple TV, Archos 605 WiFi, HP MediaSmart x280n, Roku SoundBridge, Xbox 360, Iomega ScreenPlay HD, iPhone, iPod, and Roku Netflix player (and a few I am sure I have forgotten). They all have their strengths and weaknesses on price, functionality, content, reliability, and ease of use, but again, the PC still reigns.
It’s not just any PC, though. It needs to be optimized for a 10′ experience and comfortably fit into the living room. A small form factor media center PC still “wins” could consist of a low-wattage, high performance CPU like a 65 watt AMD Phenom processor, efficient hardware HiDef video decode off the GPU like a “silent-edition” ATI Radeon HD 3650 or the motherboard-based ATI Radeon HD 3200 connected to the HDTV over HDMI, a Gyration keyboard and remote, and all the video “codec packs”, to run virtually any flavor of video. The chassis must be able to support the usage model technologically, ergonomically, and with style. Trust me, when you have been married 18 years like me, the “style” thing becomes real important. For me, the “PC over the DMA” argument comes down to compatibility, ease of use, flexibility, and price.
So when I do run into a DMA that impresses, I want to tell people about it. It’s funny how you hear about these new devices. A few weeks ago I was at a reception in New York where I ran into Marco Chiappetta, managing editor of Hot Hardware. He told me about a review he did for CPU Magazine of a device called a “TViX”. So I had to check it out for myself over the weekend… Below you can see the front and offset shots of the TViX sitting on top of a Yamaha receiver.
Here are the basics from the DViCO website on the TViX 6500a:
- · Video formats: .mkv, .iso, .mpg, .iso, .vob, .mp4, .asf, .tp, .trp, .ts, .m2ts, .mov
- · Video codecs: MPEG 1/2/4, AVI, XVID, WMV9, H.264, AVC HD, VC-1
- · Video resolutions: Up to 1920×1080P
- · Storage connectivity: Internal SATA hard drive, 2 external USB drives, and RJ45 networked.
For me, the TViX handled almost all the video I threw at it at 1080 and 720 projecting on a 120” screen with the exception of a few highly encoded .MOV, .AVI, .MKV files, and surprisingly, with videos from a new and inexpensive HD camcorder I just purchased. It also had some issues with a 720P .MOV file off an older digital camera. It rebooted on a few videos, but again still chewed through most of the formats I threw at it. It will hopefully be addressed with future firmware updates, but there are never any guarantees with video. These same files I had issues with on the TViX worked fine on my PC using CyberLink, QuickTime or VLC. Finally, The upscaling of the standard def video to higher def video was impressive as well.
Below you can see the remote (left) and the on screen display when you first power-on (right).
The most impressive thing to me about the TViX was the local storage capability. A bit strange, I know, being impressed by that for a networkable device, but I will tell you more on that later. I added a 1TB SATA drive and two external USB2 hard drives to give me a total of 2.2TB of local storage! Local playback was incredibly fast and my hunch is that some of its on-board memory is coming into play. I have used other DMAs with local storage and it was incredibly slow, so this was a welcomed change. Below see the open bay for the hard drive (left) and a shot of the back with all the ports (right) which I am sure you recognize.
Networking was a totally different story. No UPnP, so you are kind of on your own to connect it to your networked PCs. I say “kind of” on your own because it did come with PC software to index the PC content, but I was forced to hard-code my PCs IP address into the TViX. I am no self-professed networking expert, and I am brilliantly showing that off as I write. When I did get the streaming to work, it worked well, shockingly well even for very highly-encoded video files.
Net-net for me, the TViX is a decent complement to the PC for videos, photos, and even music if you can figure out the networking and make it reliable, but it isn’t going to compete with the PC anytime soon. And starting at $399 without a hard drive, the TViX isn’t exactly a throw-away, either. In my next few blogs, I will dig a little bit deeper into building an HTPC.
Note: AMD has no affiliation with DVICO.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Five Disappointing Days on the Road with a Cheap Mini-Notebook
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 7:30 AM
Over the last 6 months, I have heard a lot of industry insiders vehemently defending the cheap mini notebook (aka netbook) as a great device to travel with given its cost, size weight and applicability to task. I don’t have anything against these new cheap mini notebooks, but I think it is VERY important that consumers are educated to their weaknesses as well as their strengths, and all I see talked about are the strengths, a disservice to consumers in my opinion. I have used five of the cheap mini-notebooks over the last 6 months and yes, there are strengths and more weaknesses compared to an inexpensive full-sized notebook at the same price. I had written a lot in previous blogs on my personal interaction with these inside the home, so I decided to put it to the test outside the home, a contrast to what I had done and written about in a previous blog.
I needed to travel to Florida last week to look for a new show horse for my wife. She is a “hunter/jumper” and competes at the local, state, and national level along with my two young girls. Buying a horse is a very personal activity, and you have very little time to ride and test many horses. It is important to videotape, take still images and be able to share the videos and pictures with the other horse professionals back home in Texas over on-line services like YouTube and Flickr.
I technologically armed myself with the following:
- Aiptek HD video camera ($179) for capturing 720P and 1080P high definition video to view high quality off-line videos
- FlipVideo camera ($159) for capturing lower-resolution, easy to upload to YouTube and will also convert to the new “watch in high quality mode”
- Kodak V1253 ($175) digital camera to capture high quality 12MP 16:9 stills
- MSI Wind U100 ($579) mini-notebook with no mods
- AT&T 3G USBConnect 881 ($149) modem to connect to the internet remotely
The daily regimen consisted of driving a half hour to the horse barn and trying out a bunch of horses by riding them, videotaping and photographing them while taking notes on the pros and cons. At about mid-day, we would load all the content onto the MSI Wind to view and/or upload the content while still at the horse barn. We would do this in the car and on the way home. That’s when some of the challenges started hitting.
1) Extremely Short Battery Life
I only would get 1.5 hours battery life per charge so I was either not able to load the content in the car, view the content I had loaded in the car or had to wait until I reached the hotel to load, view and upload. I suppose I could have bought another $25-50 car adapter, but hey, these are supposed to be cheap mini notebooks, not the expensive, full featured ones, right? Additionally, because I preferred not to upload 15 separate files and preferred one, I used Windows Movie Maker to stitch together all the SD (standard-def) Flip videos, which of course wouldn’t last an entire charge and could only be done back at the hotel. Even basic usages like surfing the web at the pool was useless given the low battery life. By the time you would get to the pool, you might get an hour to read the news, get caught up on current events, etc. After that hour, its right back up to the hotel room to plug the unit back in. Forget it, easier to use the BlackBerry.
2) Choppy, Unplayable 720P Video Playback
I like slide shows, but not when myself, our trainer, and I are trying to evaluate a horses timing, skill, personality and potential problems with health and price. I estimate that the 720p video playback on the Wind was operating at 15 frames per second, a slide show. This was MOV files read from VLC player and of course QuickTime. Completely useless 720P video playback with the cheap mini-notebook. I didn’t even kid myself into thinking it was a good idea to stitch the HD files together. Encode would have been painful.
3) Choppy NBCOlympics.com Internet Video and Compromised UI
During the downtime, we wanted to watch some of the events on NBCOlympics.com, you know, with the Microsoft SilverLight experience… I then discovered a new challenge with the netbook’s 1024×600 screen resolution and maybe even with the Silverlight performance on these new notebooks. This may seem like a nit, but a couple big issues surfaced. When I clicked on the left icon “Olympic Sports” many sports icons were cut off at the top. Not real useful or intuitive and not a big deal to everyone, but new netbook and new website, it should work.
On the “Most Watched” icon on the left rail, once clicked, you cannot read the white text at the top of the screen. Annoying.
The worst part was the “As Seen on TV”, where if clicked, you get a bunch of cool videos selected by day. The big problem was that the days were covered by the browsers at the top. See that yellow half moon at the top right? That’s supposed to be a day. You can theoretically pick previous days if you could actually see them……… but you can’t.
I can’t blame the browser, I need to blame the display and controller for not being able to display those vital 168 (768-600) missing pixels. When I could actually get the videos to play, they were hit and miss, most being choppy and pixilated, some very good. The CPU varied between 75-100% depending on the content.
Hopefully others can learn from my latest science experiment….. when in doubt in my opinion, if you want to do ANYTHING other than surfing basic, light websites AT HOME without the bells and whistles, go for the full-size notebook, not one of these cheap mini-notebooks. With any form of decent video playback or any video recoding, even with Microsoft , I wouldn’t, couldn’t recommend these cheap mini-notebooks in their current state and configuration.
I would love to hear your feedback on this or of your experiences have been any different.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD.His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Web 2.0 – A New Server World Order?
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 4:55 PM
You may have seen recent blogs from me on the topic of social networks and their growth. I even subjected my Computex blogs to these media. Why do we spend time with this stuff – we don’t sell software! In the end, it’s because trends in our industry are important for AMD, and personally satisfying to me to stay up to date on these. The creative minds in our industry continue to find new ways to use technology and it’s a challenge just saying current. But what’s equally surprising is the speed that the “under 30” crowd adopts these new media/social networks. This new social model is one of the emerging Internet use scenarios that has come to be known as Web 2.0.
I find a great deal of satisfaction in this fast growing market especially in light of some recent announcements that AMD made regarding the AMD Opteron processor’s web performance. AMD recently announced that Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processor Model 2356 and Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor Model 8356 now hold the top x86 web performance records for both 2P and 4P servers, as measured by the SPECweb®2005 benchmark. This means that the AMD-based server architecture is able to process and manage more data over a period of time than competing solutions and therefore keep the media rich social networks operating at ever faster speeds. As I was writing this blog, I read a related blog from Nigel Dessau on the subject of workloads and balancing loads. We’ve spent a great deal of time and effort to enable and optimize these new networks but we did not stop there. I blogged recently on 2nd generation notebooks and highlighted the new features that we have enabled through our ATI acquisition including our UVD (universal video decoder) which is optimized to consume rich media such as web video.
AMD continues to focus on solutions. Just to be clear, what this means to us is power and performance optimized silicon, platforms optimized with partners and customers to deliver real benefits. These benefits are provided on the server side as a web backbone and on the notebook and desktop as power/performance optimized clients. So AMD is again leading and enabling major transitions in the industry by leveraging our unique capabilities to create, process, serve up and consume this new-fangled thing called Web 2.0.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
“How on Earth Did You Guys Deliver the World’s Fastest Graphics Card?”
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 6:58 AM
I had the pleasure of watching the graphics team as they were developing it. What I saw was an incredible desire and passion to do what was right for the end user as it related to games and video and to do what was right for the customer, the OEMs and the AIB (Add-In-Board) partners. The intensity, drive and sheer will was amazing to watch. And, at the same time, a humble nature…… You just knew that something amazing was going to come out.
The other factor in “how” is history….. a long history of incredible feats in 3D graphics and video technologies. While you never want to rest on history, it is a factor or variable in repeating future success. I had worked with ATI Technologies since 1995 when I ran a consumer desktop product line at Compaq Computer during the “glory days.” I worked with guys like Phil Eisler and K.Y. Ho, ATI’s founder. I picked what I considered the “top 10” (O.K. 13, no discipline) feats I am talking about:
1987 – First graphics accelerator cards released (EGA Wonder & VGA Wonder)
1991 – First Windows accelerator released (Mach8)
1996 – First 3D graphics accelerator chip released (3D Rage)
1997 – First AGP products released and first graphics chip with motion compensation acceleration for DVD playback released (Rage Pro, Rage II+ DVD)
1999 – First AGP 4X products released from ATI
1999 – World’s first dual GPU card (Rage Fury Maxx)
2001 – First GPU supporting DirectX 8.1 programmable shader technology released (Radeon 8500)
2002 – First DirectX 9 GPU with 2x the performance of any existing product released (Radeon 9700 Pro)
2003 – First integrated graphics chipset with programmable shader support released (Radeon 9100 IGP)
2004 – First gaming GPU optimized for HD resolutions released (Radeon X800)
2005- ATI GPU is featured in Microsoft Xbox 360 with first unified shader
2006 – World’s first GPU accelerated physics demo with effects and particle physics
2007 – AMD breaks the teraFLOP performance barrier and first with DX 10.1 and 55nm (ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2)
Again, historical accomplishments are a factor of future success, but as we all know in high-tech, you better not rest on it or you will get your “lunch eaten.” This attitude was best exemplified by an answer to my question to one of the graphics executives, “what’s it like to be on top?” The answer was basically, “we only won one round in a 15 round fight and we aren’t even looking back for a second. It’s off to the next product.” Man, I love that….. anyone who has ever seen the movie “Rudy” has to love that……anyone who has an ounce of passion has to love that.
So there we have it….. having the “world’s fastest graphics card” means something for a day then it’s off to the next product. Maybe history does matter though, and in my opinion, when you hear a large CPU manufacturer talk about incredible claims in graphics and video technologies sometime in 2009 or 2010, you may want to ask them for their “Top 10” graphics and video list as well.
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD.His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Get Out Your Umbrella, It’s “Reigning” Pumas (and “Raining” Dogs)
Posted by Patrick Moorhead in 9:26 AM
In my last blog, I talked about some top things to look for in a latest “2nd generation” notebook. Interestingly, no one debated my analysis of the situation. So I will take your silence as agreement with my position! On the other hand, I did get a lot of questions about availability of notebooks built on AMD’s next generation platform codenamed “Puma”, which we launched on June 4. There’s some real excitement about this ground-breaking platform, and so I took a little trip around my neighborhood of Austin, Texas to see what is already available at the local technology retailer. And remember, retail is a good test of availability, because it has the longest distribution chain.
Before I jump into the pics and SKUs, let me give a little background on the “back-to-school” selling season, which varies a bit by region. It’s been about 5 years since I ran the AMD channels group, so I needed a refresh on the BTS delivery dates. I spoke with some of my AMD biz-dev buddies and this is what they told me:
- In China and Taiwan, the “back-to-school” summer selling season starts the first week of June.
- The North America “back-to-school” season starts the last week of June or the first week of July. It starts when the ads start, like Thanksgiving right after Halloween :>.
- In Europe, the “back-to-school” season varies wildly, starting in July in the Nordics and progressively later as you move southward. In some countries, the new models don’t hit until late August or early September. I will attribute that to awesome vacations. : >
The key point here is that the “back-to-school” seasons vary by region and that “Puma” nailed them all. As this article indicates, our competitor was not quite as timely with some of its BTS deliveries…
I live in North Austin, TX, USA and it is literally the “land of retail.” I don’t live here to be or feel cool, I live here because it is a great place to bring up a family. To provide the proper care and feeding to the inhabitants, there are retail stores everywhere. So this weekend, I went on my own “Puma hunt” to really see what was going on. As I noted above, retail has the longest distribution chain and therefore is a good meter of availability. If you can get it at retail, then you can likely get it most anywhere else, like direct or on the web.
Within a few miles from my house, here is what I found. Now remember that these are the posted sticker prices I observed on actual notebooks available in Austin, Texas last weekend – taxes and additional options like extended warranties are not included. And as the retailers themselves point out, these notebooks can be subject to availability and change without notice. But they do tell a compelling story of “Puma” availability:
Best Buy
HP Pavillion TX2525NR at $1,049 a 12.1″ display tablet with the AMD Turion™ X2 RM-70 dual core processor and ATI Radeon™ 3200 graphics. As a tablet, you can use it as a standard notebook or flip the screen around and use it as a tablet with pen input. It also came with a remote to control your media from afar, bluetooth and a fingerprint reader. Cool!
HP Pavillion DV5-1004NR at $899 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra ZM-80 dual core processor and ATI Radeon™ 3200 graphics. Comes with 15.4″ display, HDMI output, an eSATA/USB combo port, webcam, 4GB RAM, cool new design (the trackpad looks like a mirror) and Microsoft Vista 64. The kitchen sink.:>
Toshiba Satellite M305D-S4830 at $849 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor ZM-80 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with 14.1″ display, 4GB RAM, 1394 port, Microsoft Vista 64, and webcam.
Toshiba U405-S2852 at $749 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor RM-70 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Also comes with a 13.3″ display, 1394 port, and webcam.
Circuit City
HP Pavillion TX2510US at $1,049 a tablet with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra ZM-80 dual core processor and ATI Radeon™ 3200 graphics. Comes with 12.1″ display and similar to the TX2525NR above.
Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5881 at $729 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor RM-70 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with a 15.4″ display and webcam.
Fry’s
HP Pavillion TX2510US at $999 a 12.1″ display tablet with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra ZM-80 dual core processor and ATI Radeon™ 3200 graphics. Similar to the TX2525NR above.
HP Pavillion DV5-1002US at $949 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra ZM-80 dual core processor and ATI Radeon™ 3200 graphics. Also comes with Microsoft Vista 64, 4GB RAM and a massive 320GB hard drive.
Toshiba Satellite M305D-S4828 at $849 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor ZM-80 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with a 14.1″ display and webcam.
Toshiba Satellite A305-S6849 at $749 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor RM-70 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with a 15.4″ display and cool new design.
Toshiba Satellite U405-S2846 at $699 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor RM-70 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with a 13.3″ display and cool new design.
Toshiba Satellite L305-S5873 at $649 with the AMD Turion™ X2 Ultra dual core processor RM-70 and ATI Radeon™ 3100 graphics. Comes with 15.4″ display.
No, these are not typos. Twelve notebooks built on AMD’s next generation “Puma” platform. All available within a few miles from my house and in the longest leadtime channel, retail. That’s not to mention what is available over the web, if that’s the way you like to shop. And these aren’t the end of the SKUs, either. I expect to see more emerge every month.
So it really is “reigning” Pumas! But wait – I also said it was “raining” dogs. By that I mean that during my visits this weekend I saw a lot of “dog” systems out there as well. I won’t say which ones specifically, but to me a system is a “dog” if it has a difficult time playing HD video and games, come chock full of “generic” graphics and “generic” wireless and is poor value for your hard earned dollars. Basically, a notebook which is the opposite of those described in my last blog (and of course the opposite of the “Puma” notebooks listed above).
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.