Transmeta Demos Crusoe in Systems

SAN MATEO (06/27/2000) - In a much anticipated unveiling, Transmeta Corp. on the opening day here at PC Expo revealed the very first set of laptops computers powered by the company's much heralded low-watt Crusoe processor.

With zero fanfare and no formal presentation, Santa Clara, California-based Transmeta officials are demonstrating ultra-thin laptops from Fujitsu Ltd., NEC Corp., and Hitachi.

IBM Corp. is also showing a Crusoe-powered ThinkPad 240, announced last week, at its booth here at the trade show.

Transmeta's Crusoe processor has enjoyed a great deal of attention in anticipation of the OEM launch. The processor, which operates on power requirements as low as 1-watt, has apparently sparked a new round of competition between established rival chip makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., in the low-power processor space.

Dan Neel is an InfoWorld reporter.