AMD has today unveiled its Turion Ultra mobile platform which will go head to head with Intel’s Centrino.

The platform was previously known by the code-name Puma. It combines an AMD Turion X2 Ultra processor with an RS780M chipset which features integrated ATI Radeon functions. Wi-Fi chips from Marvell, Broadcom or Atheros will provide a wireless capability.

Puma has arrived several months later than expected but it is not alone in its troubles. Intel’s forthcoming Centrino 2 chip set, codenamed Montevina, was expected in June but the company revealed last week that it would be delayed until July 14. Intel has said that complications with its wireless certification as well as technical problems with graphics features were the cause of the delay.

Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard have planned to announce that they will be the first to offer systems with Puma chips.

Puma features high-performance graphics thanks to AMD’s acquisition in 2006 of graphics chip maker ATI. The new chip will provide improved power conservation plus more efficient graphics processing.

The new Puma/Turion Ultra will be aimed at the mainstream laptop market and AMD claims it will give users the best experience in digital media.

“Consumer and SMB laptops in the desktop replacement and thin-and-light categories are 80 percent of the market. We’re not focussing on enterprise or ultraportables,” said Ian McNaughton, AMD’s senior manager for EMEA product platforms.

The Turion Ultra will feature two cores that can be used independently providing improved efficiency.
“When you have an app that only needs one core, the other goes to sleep,” said McNaughton.

AMD has said that Puma powered laptops will range from $699 to $2500 and begin shipping towards the end of the second quarter of 2008.

Sources:
ITWeek
Engadget
New York Times Technology