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ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC.

AMD outlines its product lineup

By Bob=20 Keefe
WEST COAST = BUREAU
Friday, July 27, 2007

SUNNYVALE, Calif =97 Advanced Micro Devices Inc. turned to the future = Thursday,=20 laying out ambitious new product road maps in an effort to show that the = company=20 is still on the right track.

At a meeting with analysts and journalists at AMD's headquarters, = executives=20 said the company is nearing completion of its next big product, a = four-core=20 computer server chip it calls Barcelona, and reaffirmed plans to start = shipping=20 it next month.

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AMD also announced a future chip it calls Sandtiger that will have = eight or=20 more cores when AMD introduces it, probably sometime in 2009. It also = described=20 two new processor designs: Bulldozer for future server and desktop = computers,=20 and Bobcat for mobile computers and other consumer electronics.

The company also detailed future graphics chips that will let = video-game=20 makers do things such as make individual muscles move in virtual = characters or=20 make objects respond to virtual gravity or wind.

Future AMD mobile phone chips, meanwhile, could let handset makers = put=20 12-megapixel cameras in their devices within a few years.

But despite the promising outlook going into the next decade, AMD = still faces=20 a less rosy immediate future, made dimmer by recent financial problems = and a=20 price war and dramatic escalation in competition from its much bigger = archrival=20 Intel Corp.

"Their competition seems to be in the forefront again," said Jim = McGregor, an=20 analyst with the technology research group In-Stat. "AMD is reacting ... = but the=20 question is, can AMD take the leap ahead again, and when?"

In one positive sign for AMD in the rivalry, the European Commission = issued=20 formal charges against Intel on Thursday for allegedly using illegal = business=20 tactics to preserve its edge over AMD, Reuters reported.

But the overall picture for AMD is daunting. Last week, the company = announced=20 it lost $600 million in the second quarter, even though its sales were = up 12=20 percent from the previous quarter. Included in the loss were charges = stemming=20 from its purchase of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies as well as = severance=20 benefits to 500 workers it laid off in May.

AMD employs about 2,500 chip designers and other workers in Austin. =

AMD officials have said they hope to return to profitability by the = end of=20 the year. But executives downplayed that prediction Thursday.

"That (is) definitely an aspirational goal that we have as a = management=20 team," Chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz said.

AMD is banking heavily on Barcelona to help it out of its current = financial=20 funk and to sustain it until some of its other chips =97 especially = those that=20 combine graphics and central processing functions, an area where it = leads Intel=20 =97 hit the market.

"Barcelona seems to be the one thing they have to keep the nostril = above the=20 waterline until then," independent technology analyst Roger Kay said. =

AMD officials indicated that they don't expect to make further = layoffs or=20 other major cost cuts in the near future, however.

"We're not going to cut ourselves out of this situation, we've got to = grow=20 the top line," AMD executive vice president Henri Richard said, echoing = other=20 AMD executives.

Industry analyst Rob Enderle said given the road map AMD laid out, = the=20 company should be well-positioned in its war against Intel in the future = if it=20 is able to get through the next couple of years.

"They've got an incredibly strong strategic outlook,' Enderle said. = "But=20 they've got some tactical difficulties on the horizon."

=20

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AMD outlines its product lineup

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