[June 04, 2006] AMD to Supply Chips for Mini PCs (Korea Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)By Cho Jin-seo After seeing the unsatisfactory debut of the world's first Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) this spring, Samsung Electronics is planning to sell the next version of the mini PC at a bargain price, starting this fall. The upcoming UMPC will hit the market around September at a price under 700,000 won, down from over 1.2 million for the initial Q1 model, a company insider said Friday. To lower the price, Samsung will use CPUs made by AMD instead of expensive Intel chips, the Samsung official said on condition of anonymity. Also, subsidies from KT for its WiBro wireless Internet service contract may help drop the price further, he said. The UMPC is a portable, mini PC about the size of a paperback. When the much-hyped gadget was unveiled in April, Samsung had hoped to sell 400,000 Q1units worldwide at 1.2 million won in the first 12 months of sales. But the ambitious goal is unlikely to be achieved as consumers have shunned it due to its high price and poor battery performance. The production of the AMD chip-embedded UMPC means that Intel, the world's leading chip maker, will be out of the three-firm partnership with Samsung and Microsoft. Formerly known as Origami, the UMPC was a co-project of the three firms after Bill Gates came up with the idea about a year ago. The new UMPC will also be equipped with a WiBro receiver, the informer said. WiBro is a wireless broadband Internet protocol being launched later this month by KT, the nation's dominant telephone service provider, and SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier. ``Samsung is negotiating with KT about receiving subsidies for WiBro users. If the deal is completed, the price of the UMPC can go down under 700,000 won,'' the Samsung official said. The lighter price tag of the new UMPC is likely to appeal to the market. Since its April debut, Q1, the first model, has received only cold reactions from both expert groups and consumers, for its high price, short battery life and uncomfortable user interface. While other low-end laptop PCs are currently sold around 700,000 won, the Q1 has a price tag of 1.2 million won. As a result, only about 2,000 units were sold in the first 30 days of sales in South Korea, disappointing Samsung management who expected it could sell 100,000 units here in the first 12 months. On giving subsidies to WiBro users, KT said it may give the rebate for various WiBro terminals, though it is not sure whether laptops will benefit from the plan. ``The law allows WiBro users to receive a subsidy from the service providers. We have been considering the subsidies for PDA users, but for laptops, we are not sure yet,'' said KT spokesperson Cho Chul-je. AMD was unavailable for comment. Along with Samsung, two other firms that are about to jump into the UMPC market. South Korea's Daewoo Lucoms said this week it will start selling a UMPC later this month at around one million won. Japan's Sony is introducing its own mini PC this month at around 1.8 million won. [ Back To the Online Project Management Community's Homepage ]