Back at CES we saw a Temash 28nm based tablet capable of running Dirt in 1080p and we met with quite a few AMD executives. The general idea is that AMD is supposed to go after tablet and convertible markets more aggressively in 2013 and Temash will lead the charge.

Kabini should do well in this market too, but more in thin notebooks, probably convertibles rather than in tablets. Last year we met with Steve Belt of AMD and saw some Hondo-based tablets, but this year Temash at 28nm should bring vastly superior performance at lower power. Steve just got some nice engineering muscle to help him drive the mobile roadmap, as AMD hired two senior engineers from Qualcomm and Apple.

Charles Matar comes from Qualcomm and the list of his expertise includes low power and embedded chip design. He joins AMD as a VP of System on chip Development.
The other chap called Wayne Meretsky comes from Apple and he apparently worked on iPad and iPhone processors in the past. He joins AMD as Vice president of software IP development and will lead the software development of AMD chips in the future.

It will take time to bring their ideas into actual products. It usually takes two years, but AMD is definitely shifting its strategy towards mobile, where it thinks it can make a difference. AMD desktop and notebook processors are decent, and graphics are going strong, despite the fact that Nvidia usually has the performance crown, Radeons are just as good as ever and they offer great value for money.

Things are getting complicated for AMD and Intel. Just a few years ago, they were the only two companies fighting for the consumer market, and now in time when tablets are becoming more important, the ARM alliance lead by Qualcomm, Apple, Nvidia, TI and a few others, is emerging as a serious competitor.

More here.