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IBM puts Transmeta plans on hold
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
October 31, 2000, 4:50 p.m. PT
update IBM has suspended a project geared toward releasing a ThinkPad notebook
containing Crusoe processors from Transmeta, company executives confirmed Tuesday.
The reversal couldn't come at a worse time for Transmeta, as the company is slated to hold its
initial public offering on Nov. 6, according to the Web site of principal underwriter Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter.
IBM has canceled a project for adding Crusoe microprocessors to its
ThinkPad 240 notebook, saying that the notebook does not fit within
its current marketing plans, according to a company spokesman. In
June, Big Blue had showcased a ThinkPad 240 containing a Crusoe
chip at PC Expo.
The company will continue to examine Transmeta technology, but
there are no plans for Crusoe-powered notebooks in the near future,
the spokesman said.
"The 240 project has been put on hold," the spokesman said. "But
we continue to look at Transmeta on an ongoing basis."
IBM had not officially committed to releasing a Crusoe notebook
commercially, yet Transmeta and IBM executives in June
acknowledged that Big Blue was gunning to release a Crusoe-based
ThinkPad in the fourth quarter of this year--if plans remained on track.
IBM had earlier enlisted Quanta, a Taiwanese notebook
manufacturer, to manufacture the ThinkPad 240.
Transmeta specializes in notebook processors that
consume less power than chips from Intel or
Advanced Micro Devices. Transmeta notebooks
promise to weigh less and consume less power
than other notebooks on the market.
While Sony and other Japanese manufacturers
have announced plans to release Transmeta
notebooks, IBM's support was seen as a major
victory. IBM is one of the largest notebook
manufacturers in the world.
IBM's semiconductor division is also manufacturing
the Crusoe chip on behalf of Transmeta.
While IBM officials did not precisely clarify why the project was cancelled, analysts speculated
that the relative performance of Crusoe chips could be a factor.
Crusoe processors do not directly run Windows programs from Microsoft. Instead, programs are
filtered through an additional "code-morphing" software layer, which can diminish performance.
Transmeta executives have said that because of code morphing, a 700-MHz Crusoe processor
performs more like a 600-MHz Pentium chip.
Early benchmark tests, however, indicate that a wider performance discrepancy may exist.
If Transmeta can't offer an equivalent performance to competitors' chips, "Intel starts to come
back with a good story," said Linley Gwennap, an analyst with the Linley Group.
More from News.com
• Notebooks with Transmeta chip arrive in U.S. October 25, 2000
• NEC is third manufacturer to release Transmeta notebook October 16, 2000
• Transmeta plans to raise more than $140 million in IPO October 2, 2000
• Major notebook players jump on Transmeta bandwagon June 27, 2000
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