AMD & Samsung: Using Technology to Bridge the Global Divide

When AMD conceived the Personal Internet Communicator (decTOP™), the company surprised some in the technology industry by eschewing a proprietary design for a standardized platform that leverages the best existing technology in new ways. Early in the decTOP™'s development phase, Samsung Semiconductor saw clear advantages to this approach: AMD could generate new revenue by offering an effective low-cost Internet access solution and end users could connect to the Internet in a simple and affordable way.

When AMD approached Samsung to provide memory for the decTOP™, the worldwide DRAM memory leader jumped at the opportunity. The technology giant had already been collaborating with AMD for a long time to ensure its memory products were compatible with AMD processor-based platforms, so the decTOP™ concept was a natural extension of the two companies' existing relationship.

"We were impressed when we heard the big-picture story about how the decTOP™ was conceived," says Tom Quinn, Samsung Semiconductor's Senior Vice President of Memory Sales and Marketing. "We felt AMD put a lot of thought into creating the whole ecosystem including marketing, manufacturing and distribution strategy. We've seen other attempts to try and do this, but no one has it as well thought out as AMD."

Samsung Semiconductors recognized in the decTOP™ an opportunity to participate in an initiative geared toward reaching out to people and reaching untapped markets at the same time. According to Quinn, "The beauty of the decTOP™ is you're not just trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. You're taking the more sophisticated approach of creating an ecosystem that involves distribution and manufacturing and governmental policy and all of the above."

AMD decided not to design the decTOP™ as a customized solution; instead, the company utilizes technology Samsung has developed for the notebook PC market. The decTOP™ familiarizes its users with technology platforms that enjoy broad support in mainstream markets. The end result is as beneficial to the companies involved as it is to the people receiving the benefits of the technology, enabling all parties involved to reap positive rewards.

Working together with mobility in mind, AMD and Samsung Semiconductors designed the decTOP™ to use Flash memory to support features. The companies' strategy addresses the scalablilty issues at the heart of mobility, as well as the varying capabilities of individual markets in various stages of development. The result is an elegant and flexible single-purpose device. "If you have PICs deployed in various Internet cafes," says Quinn, "people could use Flash drives to store all of their data — maybe even an OS. When they plug the Flash drive into the decTOP™, the device becomes theirs."

The decTOP™ facilitates usability, mobility, and expandability, all key issues AMD and Samsung Semiconductors addressed in order to speak directly to the needs of high-growth markets. AMD technology solutions for the 50x15 Initiative provide both AMD's partners and the solution's recipients with incentives for substantial growth.

Quinn sums up the guiding strategy behind 50x15 like this: "It's not a charitable endeavor - although we love the fact that there is a human side to this whole initiative. For these reasons, I think this will do more to accelerate the adoption of technology in emerging markets than previous attempts. It's a perfect opportunity for AMD and Samsung to sell these complementary products together."