Most of the top PC makers have already hopped on the ultrabook bandwagon, introducing thin and light laptops with the latest Intel processors, quick boot technology, and other newfangled features. But while Intel has trademarked the word “ultrabook” it certainly doesn’t have the monopoly on ultraportable laptops.
Chip maker AMD is hoping that computer makers will slap some of its latest chips in thin and light laptops in the coming year as well. The folks at Engadget got to check out a reference design this week.
What we’re looking at is a notebook computer that measures 0.7 inches thick. It’s designed to use a low voltage AMD Trinity multi-core processor which will have a TDP of 25 Watts or less.
This particular model was produced by Taiwanese manufacturer Compal and will probably never actually make it to market — but it gives us an idea of what ultrathin notebooks from AMD could look like… and not surprisingly they look a lot like ultrabooks.
The key difference is that AMD imagines that PC makers could sell notebooks like this for $500 and up, while ultrabooks tend to cost $900 or more (although from time to time they go on sale for as little as $799).
