AMD To Supply Chips For SAMSUNG UMPC

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 and the price may go down to below 700,000 won, 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 around 1.2 million won ($1,200) 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.