Several hours after AMD announced their new Puma platform, Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD) has stepped up as the first manufacturer to confirm they will be using the Turion X2 Ultra-based technology in their latest Satellite notebooks. Six models in the Satellite range will be offered with AMD Athlon Dual Core QL, Turion Dual Core RM and Turion Ultra ZM processors. These new models include Satellite P300D, Satellite A300D, Satellite M300D, Satellite U400D, Satellite L300D and Satellite L350D series. Toshiba's AMD-powered Satellite series will be available this summer from a variety of major consumer electronics and computer stores nationwide.

Computex 2008, AMD today announced the availability of its next-generation notebook platform, delivering the ultimate HD visual performance and increased energy efficiency on the go. The platform features new AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processors with ATI Radeon HD 3000 Series Graphics for superior 3D performance and HD image quality, with industry-leading wireless for greater throughput and range. AMD customers overwhelmingly embrace the new platform, as evidenced by more than double the number of design wins compared to the last major AMD Turion processor introduction. These new notebook designs come from leading OEMs including Acer, Asus, Clevo, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP, MSI, NEC and Toshiba.

AMD's Puma platform is expected to be formally launched at the beginning of Computex 2008, TG Daily reported today. On June 3rd, the Puma mobile platform will debut featuring the Griffin CPU named "Turion Ultra", a mobile version of the 780G chipset (RS780M), and the integrated Mobility Radeon 3200 graphics chip. Targeting business and consumber markets, Puma will be used in all major notebook form factors with 12.1-inch 13.3-inch, 15.4-inch and 17-inch displays. Discrete graphics options for the Puma platform will include ATI Mobility Radeon 3450, 3650 and 3850 graphics chips. Solid State Drives will also be available as an option, but since Puma is not targeted at the extreme laptop offerings, SSDs will be put aside. There's no information whether Puma and Turion Ultra will be available in volume from day one of its introduction. More information will follow after the start of Computex 2008.

ComputerBase has revealed AMD's notebook processor roadmap for 2008, which list four "Griffin"-based chips. "Griffin" CPUs are part of the upcomnig "Puma" notebook platform. The roadmap shows AMD Turion 64 Ultra and AMD Turion 64 dual-core models, with 2MB and 1MB of L2 cache respectively. Both CPUs support DDR2 800MHz memory and have clock speeds ranging from 2GHz to 2.4GHz. Their power consumption ranges between 32 Watts and 35 Watts. There is also a single core Athon 64 chip with 1MB of L2 cache, DDR2 667MHz support, clock speeds starting from 1.9GHz, and a power consumption of 31 Watt. AMD also lists a range of "Sable" Sempron single-core chips with 512KB of L2 cache, 25W power consumption, and clock speeds starting from 2GHz. Codename "Sable" stands for the lower-end "Griffin" CPUs. Along with the new CPUs, "Puma" will deliver the RS780 mobile chipset with the DirectX 10 ready HD3200 integrated graphics and the Unified Video Decoder (UVD). In addition, the RS780 includes PowerXpress technology for dynamic switching between integrated and discrete graphics to extend battery life, as well as PCI Express 2.0 and HyperTransport 3.0 technologies. AMD has announced that the "Puma"/"Griffin"-powered laptops will start shipping at the end of the second quarter of 2008.

After first announcing it last April, AMD has now officially launched its Puma mobile platform, which is set to go head-to-head with Intel's Centrino platform. Puma is AMD's first attempt at a complete mobile platform and provides much stronger specifications than the company has had previously. In order to be branded as part of the Puma platform, notebooks must come with a Griffin CPU, RS780M chipset and WiFi adapter, with the option of a discrete graphics card. AMD has integrated a number of power saving features into the Puma platform, including the ability to dynamically change individual CPU core frequencies depending on processor load and PowerXpress technology, which can automatically switch from discrete external graphics to less power-hungry integrated graphics when running on batteries - without the need to reboot. Puma certified systems are expected to ship from the end of the second quarter this year, with prices ranging from around $700 to $2,500 at launch.

After experiencing some technical problems with its next-generation Phenom processors, AMD could now be facing some issues with its new Puma line of devices for notebook PCs, according to an analyst. Last year, AMD announced its Griffin CPU, the first processor it has designed from the ground up for notebooks. AMD is pairing its new CPU with the Puma platform that aims to take on Intel's Centrino chips in high-end notebooks. The Puma platform is slated to ship in the second quarter and AMD insists the product is on track. But one analyst has a slightly different viewpoint. "Our channel checks suggest AMD's Puma platform for notebooks may have a technical glitch. We have not been able to confirm this with AMD and if a problem exists, AMD could have a fix in the works that saves the launch," said analyst Doug Freedman of American Technology Research Inc., in a new report. On the other hand, AMD denied that there are any issues with Puma. "AMD is not aware of any technical glitches with its next-generation notebook platform, codenamed 'Puma.' Per our commitment at the AMD Financial Analyst Day in December 2007, the 'Puma' platform remains on track for Q2 2008," the spokeswoman said.