Toshiba Turns to Non-Intel Chip for New Laptops
Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. today will join the growing ranks of computer manufacturers defecting from Intel Corp.’s chips when it introduces two new laptop computers as part of its annual roll-out of new models.
As part of its move to capture more price-conscious small-business customers and general consumers, Toshiba will feature chips by Advanced Micro Devices Corp., which consistently undercuts Intel’s prices.
In January, Advanced Micro sold more microprocessors for desktop personal computers than Intel for the first time.
Intel competitors have made the most headway with products for personal computers aimed at consumers, who see companies like AMD and Cyrix Corp. offering similar products for less.
“For most mainstream applications, every chip out there today is plenty good, and that’s why so much of the market is moving toward lower prices,” said analyst Mike Feibus, who watches the microprocessor industry for Mercury Research Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Toshiba’s conversion comes less than two weeks after computer manufacturer Gateway announced it would build computers with AMD chips. That leaves Micron Corp. and Dell Computer Corp., which focuses almost exclusively on the corporate market, as the only top Windows-based personal computer manufacturers loyal to Intel.
“There is a growing comfort level with non-Intel processors because people are trusting the brand on the outside of the box,” said Chris Pollitt, group manager for portable product marketing at Toshiba.
Pollitt said using the 333 MHz AMD K6-2 processor instead of Intel’s comparable Pentium II for the new laptop saved about $50 and allowed Toshiba to use a 13-inch screen instead of a 12-inch one on a portable costing $1,599.
The average selling price of a portable computer has fallen to $3,000, aided by cheaper components, Pollitt said.
But while Toshiba’s move to AMD made sense for one particular line of laptops, the company still plans to use an Intel chip for its Equium line of desktop computers, which are sold to corporations, Pollitt said.
“In corporate America, there is a clearly articulated preference for Intel,” Pollitt said.
Toshiba today will also announce a desktop computer that will use Intel’s newly released Pentium III chip, just as AST Research Inc. in Irvine announced Friday.
Other Orange County computer hardware manufacturers will also introduce new products today. Irvine-based Western Digital Corp. unveils a new hard drive aimed at large enterprises, and Costa Mesa-based Canon Computer Systems Inc. takes the wraps off two printers.
The new products from the three hardware manufacturers figure to push prices lower, even as the performance of personal computers, hard drives and printers improves.
