Entry-Level Toshiba Laptop Gets AMD Chip

After a break of several years Toshiba Corp. is about to introduce a laptop computer powered by an Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) processor.

The world's number four laptop PC maker said the new machine will be available soon in the U.S. and Europe. It will be aimed at the entry-level sector of the market, said Junko Furuta, a spokeswoman for Toshiba in Tokyo.

No other details about the laptop were immediately available although Toshiba suggested its U.S. and European divisions could be making an announcement soon.

The design win for AMD comes as it is stepping up the pressure against rival Intel Corp. in the expanding laptop sector. Intel has just launched its new Santa Rosa laptop platform and in response AMD is readying its own platform called Puma, however that isn't likely to launch until mid-2008.

The two companies are locked in competition at the bottom-end of the market too. AMD scored the contract to supply chips for One Laptop Per Child's "$100 laptop" after which Intel introduced its own machine for emerging markets, the Classmate PC.

Toshiba stopped using AMD chips in laptops around 2001 -- something that was highlighted in court documents when AMD launched an antitrust suit against Intel almost two years ago.

AMD alleged that Toshiba dropped the use of its chips after receiving a "very substantial" payment from Intel. Toshiba was receiving "market development funds" from Intel worth about $25 million to $30 million per quarter and those would be jeopardized if it used AMD chips, the lawsuit alleged.