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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tushar Patel who wrote (115639)	11/2/2000 9:10:35 AM
From: John A. Stoops	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Interesting development. November 2, 2000 IBM Cancels Plans to Use Transmeta Chip in Laptop By MOLLY WILLIAMS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL International Business Machines Corp. canceled plans to use a Transmeta chip in a new Thinkpad laptop that was to come out later this year, dealing the upstart chip maker a blow just days before it expects to offer shares to the public. IBM declined to give a reason for its decision. IBM had lined up behind Transmeta this year, pledging to work on a new Thinkpad that would take advantage of the longer battery life and low-power consumption offered by Transmeta's Crusoe processor. While other companies, including Sony Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., Hitachi Corp. and NEC Corp. have announced laptops using the chip, only Sony is selling it in the U.S., and none of the U.S. manufacturers have announced products. IBM, Armonk, N.Y., and one of the largest makers of notebook computers, said it is still evaluating Transmeta's processors for future use in other products, though it is also evaluating low-power products from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. IBM's support was seen as a crucial victory for Transmeta. IBM manufactures Transmeta chips as part of an unrelated manufacturing agreement. "IBM had a vested interest in the product, because they manufacture it, so there is a significant feeling that this could hurt Transmeta," said Kevin Krewell, senior analyst at MicroDesign Resources, a research firm. Transmeta's processors use software to do some of the most common computing functions; that reduces the need for big, complicated circuitry and helps to reduce power consumption. The personal-computer makers that have introduced laptops with the Crusoe processor said it offers as much as two times the battery life of other laptops on the market. Transmeta, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is expected to raise nearly $200 million in its initial public offering as early as Monday. Transmeta has filed to sell nearly 14 million shares at $11 to $13 each. Transmeta unveiled its products in January after nearly five years of heavily guarded secrecy. Early investors included billionaire George Soros and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Linus Torvalds, inventor of the Linux operating system, was an early employee. Transmeta is in a regulatory "quiet period" before its IPO and declined to comment specifically on IBM's decision. Write to Molly Williams at molly.williams@wsj.com Copyright © 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.