“Secretive chip startup Transmeta Corp. says its eye-opening
deal to supply Gateway Inc. and America Online Inc. with
Internet-appliance chips is just the start of things to come.”
“…It’s good for Transmeta. It gives the company some
credibility,” said Mike Feibus, an analyst with market research
firm Mercury Research in Scottsdale, Ariz.”
“Transmeta’s other area of focus, the thin-and-light notebook
PC, is sexy but a small piece of the overall market for PCs, Feibus
said. Transmeta “is going to win or lose in these new and emerging
markets” as symbolized by the Gateway/AOL deal, he said.”
“It is rumored that Gateway chose Transmeta over National
Semiconductor’s Geode, an x86-based system-on-a-chip aimed at
Internet appliances. Gateway officials said the company
evaluated processors by criteria including performance, operating
temperature and power consumption. The 3120 chip, available in
speeds of 333MHz to 400MHz, consumes about 1 watt of power when in
use.”