News.blog: Dell plans for AMD-based laptops

Dell is set to introduce laptops based on AMD's processors as early as October, according to a report from our colleagues over at CNET Asia.

AMD finally broke into the Dell account earlier this year, signing a deal for four-processor servers. Rumours have grown since that announcement that the companies would soon expand their relationship. The Dell consumer laptops in October would be based on Turion X2 and Sempron processors and use 15.4-inch displays, an unnamed Dell executive said in the report. (You'll need a translator, it's in Chinese.) AMD's Taiwan chief, K J Chou, confirmed the companies are working together on desktops and laptops, but called it "a sensitive matter".

US representatives from both companies declined to confirm the deal. A Dell representative declined to comment in general, while AMD issued a statement: "We don't comment on our customer's unannounced products, but would welcome an expansion of Dell's AMD-based offerings beyond the high-end servers Dell previously disclosed."

AMD executives were very coy about the nature of their relationship with Dell at their spring analyst meeting, which was held a few weeks after Dell declared its intention to offer AMD-based servers. They declined to comment at all about the status of their dealings with Dell, which raised a few eyebrows among the press and analyst corps in attendence used to hearing about the breathless pursuit of the Dell account over the past few years.

In a recent interview with the Austin American-Statesman, Dell chief executive Kevin Rollins said said his company's relationship with AMD would expand, but he didn't elaborate. Dell's embrace of AMD processors comes just as Intel, its longtime significant other, has finally turned its processor lineup around with products that outperform AMD's current desktop and server chips.

"Offering AMD chips on notebooks is a no-brainer for Dell," said Samir Bhavnani, an analyst with Current Analysis. "AMD is clearly not the second-class citizen it once was and there is no question that Dell hears requests from customers about AMD in notebooks."