The AMD Fusion laptops trickle in
We were expecting a deluge of new AMD Fusion powered laptops in the first quarter of this year. That did not happen, but they are trickling in. We have been very bullish about AMD Fusion platforms because they provide the correct balance of features for the average consumer: sufficient processing power, excellent graphics performance and low cost. In some ways, it is unfortunate for AMD that the launch of the Fusion platform is in a world enamored with tablets. Still, we think AMD Fusion platform is a more relevant to the Philippine situation. In January of this year, Acer released the 10.1-inch Acer Aspire One 522 netbook powered by an AMD C-50. The Aspire One 522 combined a very reasonable Php17,990 price with the ability to play and output HD 1080p video content. Acer's subsidiary, eMachines, released an AMD E-350 powered machine, the 14.1" inch eMachines eMD644-e352g50mn laptop for Php21,990 (without an operating system though). The AMD C-50 is the lower powered AMD Fusion platform designed for netbooks. The AMD E-250 and E-350 are more powerful Fusion platforms designed for laptops and lower powered desktops.
Sony released it Vaio YB ultraportable laptop powered by a AMD E-350 in February. Being a Vaio it was priced at the higher end at Php29,990 which actually places it in the same price range as Intel i3 powered laptops.
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| HP Pavilion DM1 @Php22,999 with Windows 7 |
There are now two new AMD E-350 options in the market, the 11.6-inch HP Pavilion DM1 - 3016AU ultraportable laptop and the thin-and-light 14.1-inch Lenovo G475. The HP is priced at Php22,999 preloaded with Windows 7 Home Basic, while the Lenovo is priced lower at Php21,995, but without an operating system.
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| Lenovo G475 @ Php21,995 with DOS |
If you are looking for a new low cost laptop, we recommend that you give the AMD E-350 platforms a look. They are bang for the buck options, with not too many compromises. The HP Pavilion DM1 looks particularly interesting.