Laptops, Net Appliances Are Transmeta's Domain

LAS VEGAS -- The low-powered, low-heat Crusoe microprocessor from Transmeta is starting to pop up in more laptops and Internet appliances.

Walking the floor of Comdex, participants can see that several vendors are implementing the once oh-so-secret chip into their machines. Although some vendors such as IBM and Compaq have decided to hold off on using the x86-compatible Crusoe chip, others are believers that the processor is ideal for smaller portable machines.

Crusoe gains its low-power capabilities by using software to help execute instructions, which takes the load off the silicon. Called "code morphing," the technology converts instructions written for x86-type processors such as Intel's Pentium III into VLIW (very long instruction word) instructions that can be read by Crusoe's underlying hardware. (See "Sony's Transmeta: Longer Life, Less Performance.")

At the Sony Electronics booth, the Crusoe is used in the Vaio PictureBook C1VN. It runs on a 600-MHz version of the chip, which allows the 2.2-pound subnotebook to gain about 1.5 to 2 hours of battery life, says spokesperson David Yang. The C1VN, which costs $2299, is currently Sony's only offering with the Transmeta chip in the United States, but Yang says that does not mean that Sony won't put Crusoe in other products. "Especially with the sub [notebook], it makes a lot of sense," he says. But while Crusoe has been earning more hype than a new Harry Potter book, Sony's booth didn't highlight the fact that the PictureBook runs on one of Transmeta's chips.

Hitachi has two Crusoe products on display at the show. There is the Flora 220TX laptop, which runs on a 600-MHz version and is only available in Japan. The 3.7-pound (1.7-kilogram) Flora can offer about 10 hours of battery life with a nine-cell battery, says Shingo Kato, a product manager for Hitachi. A more traditional three-cell battery, however, will offer the user about 2 to 3 hours of battery life. The Flora 220TX was introduced in late October and costs about $2300, Kato says.

Hitachi also has on display its Pia prototype Internet appliance. It runs on a 400-MHz Crusoe chip, has 192MB of RAM, and runs an embedded version of the mobile Linux operating system. The operating system runs off a 48MB CompactFlash card and has no hard drive. The Pia has not been priced.

Gateway has its new Connected Touch Pad Internet appliance on display, just a few days after launch. It uses the Crusoe chip and starts at $599. The touch-screen device, offered in conjunction with America Online, will be in Gateway Country stores by late November.

Casio showed off its new Cassiopeia FIVA subnotebook, which will come with either a 500-MHz or 600-MHz Crusoe chip, says Scott Nelson, a product manager for Casio. The 2.1-pound machine will begin shipping worldwide in the first quarter of 2001 for under $2000 and gets 6 hours of battery life with a six-cell battery, or 5 hours of use with a three-cell battery, Nelson says. It comes with an 8.4-inch SVGA (800 by 600 pixels) TFT (thin film transistor) LCD.

The chip is also in Rebel.com's Netwinder Internet server appliance. This features a 533-MHz Crusoe chip and will begin shipping in the latter half of January 2001. Rebel.com uses Intel's 110-MHz StrongArm chip in its existing Netwinder Internet server appliances. A significant factor in deciding to change to the Crusoe is that it is x86 compatible, says Michael Whitehead, Rebel.com's vice president of research and development.

The Internet server appliance will come with 128MB of RAM and a 10GB to 12GB hard drive, and it will sell in the mid-$2000 range, Whitehead says.

Wearable computer maker Via is also displaying its newest offering, which includes a 700-MHz Crusoe chip.

(James Niccolai contributed to this report.)