Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) could build computer processors for tablet devices within two years, says a senior official with the US chip maker.
Tablet devices have surged in popularity over the past year after the introduction of Apple's iPad and similar offerings from Amazon, Hewlett-Packard and Sony.
More than 4 million tablet devices are expected to be sold this year, a figure that will rise to 57 million by 2015, the technology consultancy ABI Research says.
"We see [tablets] being a huge market but it's likely [to be] a couple of years away," said Nigel Dessau, the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for AMD.
"If you look at the industry analyst numbers, Apple has done an incredible job with the iPad and we expect to see them continue to lead the majority of the market for a while. What we're looking at is when in the future it might make sense for us to intercept that with a product of our own."
But entering the tablet market will require a different strategy for AMD. The company makes chips using the "x86" standard commonly used to provide high computing power for desktops and laptops.
Tablets and other mobile devices such as smartphones have chips that use the ARM design, a set of microchip blueprints developed by the company of the same name that offer high performance from limited battery power.
Analysts say it remains to be seen how competitive AMD's tablet offerings will be.
"It makes sense that they're trying to get into the tablet space," said Daniel Berenbaum, a technology analyst at Auriga USA. "I would bet that there are already people out there trying to figure out how to put their processors into tablets."
AMD recently introduced a line-up of processors called Vision that will provide potential customers with an idea of what computer to buy based on the level of computing power it can deliver for activities such as video streaming or editing images.
The accompanying marketing campaign comes at a time when AMD is looking to take on its main rival Intel. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect AMD's sales to rise 21 per cent this year to US$6.55 billion (Dh24.05bn).
In the first quarter of this year, AMD had an 18.1 per cent share of the worldwide market for microchips used in most PCs and servers, compared with Intel's 81.2 per cent share, the market analyst company Mercury Research says.
Mr Dessau was in the UAE this week to attend strategy and planning discussions with the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC), a specialist investment vehicle owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.
ATIC holds a 73 per cent stake in the microchip maker Globalfoundries and AMD retains the remaining stake. ATIC hopes to buy out AMD's Globalfoundries stake but neither company has said when this might happen.
Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, also owns a stake of about 20 per cent in AMD.
Mr Dessau declined to comment on recent reports that AMD was in discussions with Apple to replace Intel as the exclusive provider of chips in Apple computers.
dgeorgecosh@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
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