The rumour mill has been buzzing for a while now that AMD are going to target the Android mobile marketspace for both smartphone and tablet.
AMD have been fairly tight lipped about this but we have heard from a reputable source that AMD are adding staff to specifically create Android drivers for Fusion products. DigiTimes have also published a story which would point to similar ‘behind the scenes' conversations.
If AMD create drivers for Android it opens up a huge market place for Fusion – such as the growing list of Google partners who are shipping smartphones and tablets. AMD may very well be thinking about very low power versions of Fusion technology.
This could cause problems for Intel, especially as they are trying to push manufacturers to standardise on Intel x86 chips across mobile, server and desktop platforms. British company ARM are a thorn in their side as they produce designs which power many smartphones and tablets on the market today. If AMD enter into the mix then it gets even more complicated for manufacturers and developers, nevermind Intel.
AMD have not yet confirmed anything, but if rumours are right then a team is already in development specifically to focus on Android drivers. While the Android platform was originally developed for ARM technology, it has been ported to x86 by Intel to encourage development of Atom processors.
KitGuru says: If AMD come to market with similar, lower power drain designs this could cause a variety of problems for Intel.
It would be a sensible move for AMD, Intel fail to make very low powered CPUs. ARM are dominating.
ironic to think that Intel could very well be the force to help AMD get this out with their x86 remake 🙂