Companies to launch AMD notebooks in Japan

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By Douglas F. Gray

(IDG) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will see its chips used in new consumer notebooks in Japan from NEC Corp., Sony Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., the company said.

NEC Corp. has unveiled a notebook using AMD's top mobile chip, the new 1GHz Athlon 4, which the company announced as well as a second notebook using a processor from AMD's low-cost Duron family.

The Athlon 4-based machine, the Lavie LG10NR/7, comes with 128M bytes of memory and 14.1 inch TFT (thin film transistor) LCD (liquid crystal display) and has a retail price from 234,800 yen (US$1,960). The 800MHz Duron-based LG80RR/7 is similarly equipped and prices begin at 189,800 yen.

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Fujitsu announced plans to ship a notebook based on the 800MHz version of the mobile Duron processor. The Biblio NB7/80C is equipped with a 14.1 inch TFT LCD, 128M bytes of memory and 20G byte hard disk drive.

Sony is expected to announce new Duron offerings, said AMD in a statement. Sony will launch a Vaio machine in Japan this month using the 700MHz mobile Duron processor. Sony currently offers a Vaio FX210 notebook in the U.S. based on the mobile Duron in the U.S. market.

AMD launched the mobile Athlon 4 last week, as well as mobile Duron processors running at 800MHz and 850MHz. All the new chips contain the company's PowerNow technology, which features up to 32 different voltage and frequency settings, depending on the amount of power needed for certain applications.