"Yep, the rumors are true. AMD does indeed intend to do away
with the ATI name, eliminating the "ATI Radeon" co-branding the
company has steadfastly maintained since its acquisition of ATI.
The firm briefed us on its plans late last week and explained
several factors influencing its decision.
"As one might expect, a major motivator is the fact AMD plans to
introduce a range of new products incorporating both AMD
microprocessor technology and a Radeon graphics tech on the same
chip. The first fruits of the CPU-GPU "Fusion" initiative are
slated to arrive soon. "Ontario," which will combine two copies of
the low-power "Bobcat" CPU core with Radeon graphics, is slated to
ship before the end of the year. The more powerful "Llano" APU,
which mates quad Phenom II-class CPU cores with presumably a more
capable GPU, is scheduled for the first half of 2011. Obviously,
the combination of the firm's CPU and GPU technologies into
single-chip products could create some consumer confusion, if folks
were to continue to think of AMD and ATI as separate
entities—especially if the ensuing marketing messages
emphasize the benefits of CPU-GPU integration"
