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AMD's Second Bus Tour Revving Up
ExtremeTech, October, 2002 by Mark Hachman
As election season moves into full swing, Advanced Micro Devices is
embarking on its second whistle-stop tour to win the hearts and
wallets of PC consumers.
The "AMD Reality Check: Extreme Performance Project 2" will caravan
across the country with stops in major metropolitan areas
coast-to-coast, AMD said Tuesday.
The tour will be similar to last year's roadshow, when AMD rallied
fans and interested customers at the crack of dawn, rewarding them
with free goodies. Like the electoral system, consumers tend to vote
for their favorite CPU manufacturer during the holiday season, when
one third of annual PC purchases are made, according to NPD Intelect.
Attendees can expect "Battle of the Box" competitions, gaming system
displays, and other demonstrations. System builders and resellers
will have a chance to meet with AMD executives.
"In addition to providing information, this tour is an excellent
venue for AMD to listen and gather input from our customers," said
Ed Ellett, vice-president of marketing for AMD, in a statement.
"These events give us a reality check on their computer performance
needs."
Reaching out to the enthusiast market has not been a problem for
AMD, which has seen its processors enthusiastically endorsed by
ExtremeTech and other do-it-yourself websites, as well as major
computer publications. However, convincing the average PC buyer is
still a concern for AMD, which saw its market share fall by two
points during the July quarter, executives acknowledged on a
conference call then. Mercury Research, a market research firm in
Scottsdale, Ariz., estimates the company's overall market share is
16.5 percent.
"You don't get all the information you need, even as an informed
buyer--beyond the speeds and feeds and so forth," said Tim Wright,
director of desktop marketing at the Computational Products Group at
AMD, in an interview.
AMD has convinced manufacturers like Sony to add disclaimers to its
flyers stating that megahurtz is not a good indication of
performance. But, aside form the model numbers which try to measure
the performance of the processor, Wright said the experience is
still frustrating. One bright spot? Home shopping networks, where
AMD sells about 250,000 units per quarter, Wright said, through what
are essentially half-hour informercials.
Wright also acknowledged that AMD intended to set the stage for the
holiday season by pre-announcing the 2700+ and 2800+ Athlon XP
processors, which are slated to ship in November. (The 2800+ will be
initially released only to so-called "enthusiast" OEMs, like Falcon
Northwest.)
"The thinking was that here's your timetable, now you'll have a
chance to get ready," Wright said. We might not have had
communicated that message very well... Part of the message was that
these were due at the back end of November. I think you'll see it
before then. That's your guidance."
AMD will unveil the second part of its "True Performance Initiative"
in early 2003, Wright said. Until then, the "Extreme Performance
Project" will continue to hit the road, beginning in San Diego, then
stopping in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit,
Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Northern
Virginia, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh, St. Louis, San
Diego, and Seattle, in no particular order. Specific information
regarding each event can be found at www.amdrealitycheck.com, AMD
said.
Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Originally appearing in ExtremeTech.
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