Transmeta Corp. today christened its TM8000 microprocessor with the brand name Efficeon.

While recent months have seen Transmeta make a concerted push into the embedded space, Efficeon¡¯s main focus promises to be on ultra-low power and ultra-portable notebooks. The company¡¯s most powerful processor will also serve tablet PCs, ultra-personal computers, silent desktop computers and embedded systems.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Transmeta claims the chip will offer an unmatched combination of power efficiency, design flexibility, performance-on-demand and low cost, and will be a leader in delivering best-in-class performance, per watt, per dollar. Production is slated to begin later this quarter.

Efficeon is said to have been architected from the ground-up, and includes three high-speed buses and the second generation of Transmeta¡¯s proprietary code morphing software (CMS). The company claims the chip can execute up to eight instructions per clock, which allows typical, real-world applications to run about 50 percent faster per clock cycle, and multimedia applications up to 80 percent faster per clock cycle, than its current Crusoe TM5800 processor.

The company said customers have provided positive feedback, with initial customer product announcements being expected in Q4. Some analysts have said Efficeon offers an attractive alternative to Intel Corp.¡¯s Centrino platform, and at a lower price.

¡°By promoting Efficeon as an ingredient brand with our system partners, we¡¯re really conveying the promise of a distinctive user experience -- efficient and always on,¡± said Matthew R. Perry, Transmeta¡¯s president and CEO, in a statement. ¡°Efficient computing is what the mobile market is demanding -- uncompromising application performance, extended battery life, low heat, appealing ergonomic designs, ultra-small form factors, fully integrated functionality, and more dependable products with fewer components. Naturally, all of this has to come at an appealing price point.¡±

Detailed specifications and benchmark data have not so far been publicly issued by Transmeta, but are expected within the coming months.

¡°Transmeta made the computer industry recognize the narrow-minded nature of the megahertz race, which did not properly balance the changing needs of end users in the emerging wireless computing era,¡± said Tim Bajarin, mobile computing expert and president of research firm Creative Strategies, in a statement. ¡°The Efficeon processor should be considered by computer makers looking to build small, thin and light designs that require minimal power budgets.¡±

By: DocMemory
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