AMD says iPad a disruption to PC business

AMD during the call discussing its net loss this summer admitted that the iPad was having an effect on computers. CEO Dirk Meyer answered a question on the impact by explaining that tablets, led by Apple, had created a "disruption in the notebook market." He wouldn't speculate to the extent, but he saw the iPad affecting the whole notebook market, not just the netbooks Apple intended to beat.

"If you ask five people in the industry, you'll get five different answers as to what degree there's been cannibalization by tablets of either netbooks or notebooks," Meyer said. "I personally think the answer is both, and given the pretty high price points of the iPad, there's probably some cannibalization even of mainstream notebooks."

AMD itself has seen strong growth in its mobile chip sales but only expects to get into Apple-like tablet designs in about two years. It added during the call that it may claim an edge through graphics, since its Fusion processors should give it fast graphics without needing a separate chip. Modern AMD notebooks have often benefited from the acquisition of ATI since they now usually have much faster integrated graphics than Intel.

Analysts have only just recently begun to quantify the iPad's effect and have suggested that PC builders are losing some sales to customers who would have otherwise bought a netbook or budget notebook. The developing world is so far thought to be immune as the iPad's OS limitations make it impractical to use as an only computer, but the slate accomplishes many if not all of the goals of a netbook as a secondary computer.

By Electronista Staff