We just wrapped AMD’s annual Financial Analyst Day, and throughout the event I couldn’t help but think “What a big year it’s been.” But more importantly, I can’t help thinking, “Wow, we’ve got a great future ahead, and people need to get in on the excitement.”

I tend to get excited about the product and technology disclosures we shared for the first time today. It’s why I drive to work down Hill Country back roads to the AMD Lone Star Campus each morning with a smile on my face – it’s very cool being a part of a company that creates technology that truly matters in people’s lives. It’s also professionally gratifying when media start picking up on that excitement, and I think they increasingly are. After today, I predict the positive vibes will flow even more. I can see media are beginning to recognize our sustained product momentum and unique technology roadmap, and what we presented to them today further illustrates how we plan to sustain this momentum and create high-value experiences across our entire product line.

Before we jump to 2011, let’s look back at 2009.

The entire tech industry, including AMD, entered 2009 on a down note, fallout from a worldwide economic implosion. In spite of that, we’re exiting 2009 in clear, crisp fashion.  In 2009 AMD consistently executed, delivered what we promised, and launched well-received new platforms and products for every market we serve, most of them ahead of schedule. And we made sure to focus on delivering these platforms with the right blend of computing performance and superior graphics. Moreover, this year we focused on growing our partner ecosystem and strengthened our customer and OEM relationships by truly listening to customers’ and consumers’ demands and offering complete solutions to match their needs—including the AMD Server Platform featuring the Six-Core AMD Opteron™ processor, AMD Platform for Ultrathin Notebooks, AMD Vision Technology, ATI Radeon™ 5800 series graphics cards, and Dragon platform technology featuring AMD Phenom™ II processors.

So what exactly did AMD talk about today?

We talked about all the exciting and innovative things to come in 2010 and 2011. Senior executives including AMD President and Chief Executive Officer Dirk Meyer briefed media and analysts on the great things AMD has in store for the future and discussed the state of our business. During the day, other senior execs talked about our technology strategy, future product and platform plans and led a series of more technical sessions. Attendees got to see firsthand the roadmaps outlined for platforms and technology that span the most popular usage scenarios for customers at work, at home and at play. With the growing importance and ubiquity of multimedia, AMD’s momentum and lead in the graphics market will differentiate us from competitors, enabling a complete computing experience with stunning graphics and video that consumers demand. Our strong roadmap for 2010 is scheduled to be followed with the advent of “Fusion” and the first Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) codenamed “Llano,” in 2011. This arrival will mark a new era in computing, succeeded the previous generations of first clock frequency, then multi-core driven performance gains. We also plan to bring to market the first “Bulldozer” and “Bobcat” core-based platforms, focusing on power, performance and size.

As highlighted in the platform and technology roadmaps presented today, here are the highlights of what’s scheduled to come in 2010 and 2011 (by codename):

Next-Generation Technologies for Next-Generation Graphics 

• While AMD maintains momentum in rolling out several more DirectX 11 capable parts from its wildly successful ATI Radeon™ HD 5000 series in 2H09 and 1H10 including graphics cards codenamed “Cedar,” “Hemlock,” and “Redwood,” AMD will also introduce DirectX 11 capable members of the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5000 series in 2010, bringing incredible graphics capabilities and stunning HD video to AMD’s new notebook platforms.
• “Bobcat” is AMD’s low-power x86 processor core aimed at notebook processing in ultrathin and netbook form factors, and designed to be extremely small, highly flexible and single threaded.
•  “Bulldozer” is AMD’s completely new, high performance architecture for the mainstream server, mainstream desktop and notebook PC markets that employs a new approach to multithreaded compute performance for achieving advanced efficiency and throughput. “Bulldozer” is designed to give AMD an exceptional CPU option for linking with GPUs in highly scalable, single-chip Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) configurations. 

Notebook Platforms:

• “Danube” is AMD’s new platform for the mainstream notebook market and will feature the new “Champlain” CPU, the first quad-core processor offered by AMD specifically for the notebook market that includes 2M cache and DDR3 memory support.
•  “Sabine,” is AMD’s new mainstream notebook platform slated for 2011 and will be the first notebook platform to feature the quad-core “Llano” APU.
•  “Nile” is AMD’s next generation platform for ultrathin notebooks and is scheduled for 1H10, with the dual-core “Geneva” CPU using DDR3 memory technology and is being designed to yield more than 7 hours of battery life under normal usage conditions.
• “Brazos” is AMD’s ultrathin notebook and netbook platform slated for 2011, and “Ontario” is the APU based on the “Bobcat” core.

Desktop Platforms:

• “Leo” is AMD’s next generation enthusiast-class desktop PC platform. Scheduled for 1H10, “Leo” will feature the industry’s first six-core desktop CPU, codenamed “Thuban,” for greater multi-tasking, as well as DirectX 11 capabilities for a visually enhanced gaming experience.
• “Dorado” is AMD’s next-generation mainstream desktop platform with AMD Athlon™ II processors, DirectX 11 discrete graphics options, and stream application acceleration.
• “Lynx,” and “Scorpius” are AMD’s desktop platforms for 2011. “Lynx” is the first desktop platform powered by the quad-core “Llano” APU. “Scorpius” is an enthusiast-class desktop platform featuring the “Zambezi” CPU, the first 8-core solution for enthusiast desktop users based on the “Bulldozer” core.

Server Platforms:

• “Maranello” is AMD’s next generation server platform and remains on track for introduction in 1H10. “Maranello” is a DDR3-based server platform which is expected to offer a new socket infrastructure, Socket G34, to support upcoming 8 or 12-core “Magny-Cours” processors.
• “San Marino” is AMD’s new server platform suited for large, dense deployments that require power efficiency and flexibility that is ideal for small/medium businesses, as well as web, cloud and infrastructure applications.

You can also check out AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager Rick Bergman’s presentation below.

We have an exciting road ahead of us, cool technological advancements and new innovative products we plan to bring to the market, so buckle up your seat belts and enjoy the ride and full featured experience we have in store. AMD has turned the corner, going in the right direction of a fully enhanced user computing experience for every market, there’s no looking back now – full speed ahead.

John Taylor is Director, Global Platform & Product Communications 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.  This blog contains forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words such as “plans,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates” or “intends.”  AMD Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.