PC Week: Thumbs up or down on Transmeta?

“It was hard to judge at the company’s long-anticipated debut
last week. The hype surrounding the company put the story of
its Crusoe line of software-based microprocessors on the nightly
national news. But the startup’s coming out party was, frankly, a
letdown….“

“While the party was full of TV cameras and chip insiders, the
guest list was seriously lacking in much more important ways.
Transmeta, claiming it was their day to shine, had no customers at
the launch. The company says it is talking to major OEMs, and a
handful contacted by PC Week confirmed it, but the lack of support
at the launch quickly let the air out of the hype balloon….”

“Transmeta also did a few other things that made observers
wonder. The company is proposing a new industry benchmark for
mobile processors since, officials said, the emphasis should be on
battery life and systems weight, not clock speed. A new benchmark
may very well be called for, but it would look better if an
objective third party was doing the calling.”

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