AMD in your shirt pocket
Advanced Micro Devices probably didn’t buy ATI Technologies to get a hold of RenderMonkey. But the application, part of AMD’s software development suite, could help the chipmaker just the same.
AMD said today said it has begun acclimating application developers to handheld graphics technologies it intends to introduce in 2008. A good part of that effort involves offering developers a software development suite for writing multimedia and gaming variety software for handhelds. The new kit is one part of a larger effort by AMD to carve out larger piece of the handheld device market.
AMD and others expect handheld devices to become a billion-unit market in 2007. Given its size, the handheld space has become a new battleground in the chip wars. Intel, Nvidia and many others are also pursuing similarly large pieces of the market in an effort to augment their respective PC products businesses. Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini said earlier this week that its forthcoming low-power processors could help handset makers compete with Apple’s iPhone.
AMD has a similar aim, which is to boost performance of handheld devices, not necessarily to take out the iPhone. It hopes that by working with both sides of the market, including handset makers and the developers who will create software for them, to gain an edge. It's hard to see why strong game performance and application availability could not improve AMD’s ability to win business in the handheld space.
Although small when compared to its PC processor business, AMD’s Consumer Electronics products segment, which includes the Imageon, has been profitable. The segment, which also includes processors for high-definition television, added $100 million to AMD’s fourth quarter revenue following its purchase of ATI, last October. Small or not, the CE segment also turned in a tidy operating profit of $20 million for the quarter.
AMD certainly wants that trend to continue.