AMD touts new Vision for laptops

Revamped branding will make it easier to see which laptop to buy, according to AMD

New AMD laptop platforms are due to arrive with Windows 7

AMD's upcoming laptop platforms will be branded to match the different situations in which buyers will typically use them. The new Vision brand will make it easier for customers to identify which laptops have the necessary performance for particular tasks, with a focus on video.

The company will today unveil a refresh of its mainstream laptop platform, codenamed Tigris, along with the second-generation ultra-thin platform, the successor to Yukon, which launched earlier this year. The first models are due to arrive at the same time as Windows 7.

AMD's Vision brand is split into three tiers based on buyers' expectations of a laptop, the idea being to assure customers that the system they are buying offers the performance to meet their needs.

Entry-level Vision laptops are good for everyday tasks such as browsing and watching video online, while those labelled Vision Premium meet the hardware specifications for "media consumers" who watch high-definition video and convert videos to watch on a portable player, for example.

The Vision Ultimate brand, meanwhile, covers laptops with the highest specifications, capable of creating and editing high-definition video and playing demanding 3D games.

"End users are now using PCs very differently than just a few years ago. Video is now ubiquitous," said AMD vice president of worldwide marketing Leslie Sobon.

"We are going to stop talking to buyers about processors, because it's not their first consideration. They want to know, can it play games? Does it run video well? Can it play high-definition content? That's how we're going to start speaking to them."

The Vision platform will have support for Windows 7 features such as High DPI to deliver more readable text, plus Direct2D acceleration of graphics, according to Sobon.

Premium and Ultimate laptops will ship with plug-ins that let media authoring tools make use of ATI Stream technology, which unlocks the power of the graphics processor chip to speed complex calculations.

AMD's mainstream laptops will be based on Turion II or Turion II Ultra Dual-Core mobile processors with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 graphics, while the second-generation ultra-thin platform includes Turion Neo X2 or Athlon Neo X2 processors with ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics.

Ultra-thin laptops will typically have 13.3in screens, Blu-ray and 1080p high-definition video support, plus better battery life than the first generation, while the mainstream models will have larger screens.

"The bulk of the [laptop] market is still going to be 14in, 15in and 16in laptops this holiday season," said Sobon.