AMD cancels its low-cost PC project

Author: Brett Thomas
Published: 13th November 2006
Comments (4) Stumble
"AMD Who?" - Despite noble attempts, AMD's PIC hasn't even been heard of by many that it was supposed to save.

"AMD Who?" - Despite noble attempts, AMD's PIC hasn't even been heard of by many that it was supposed to save.

Back in 2004, AMD announced a bold campaign known as 50x15. Rather than talking about cores, clock speed multipliers, or various other technical aspects, 50x15 served a more noble purpose - to bring internet connectivity to half the world by 2015. Now, the chip manufacturer's product designed for that market, the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC) has been cancelled.

You've never heard of the PIC? Well, apparently that was the problem. AMD has cancelled the project due to less-than-lackluster sales and a nearly zero impact. The PIC was aimed at developing nations where technology and economics (a rather linked set of metrics, to be sure) had not quite caught-up with modern computing or the world of communication as a whole. Heralded as the PC alternative, AMD sold the device for $185 to...well, nobody.

When questioned about the PIC, the IT head of one of India's most technologically advanced state, Karnataka, shook his head in confusion. He had never even heard of the device. India was one of the developing nations where AMD had hoped to generate most of sales of the unit, where the average cost of a full PC is well out of reach to many.

This news comes on the same day that the a new study by Access Markets International Partners, a leading research firm on technological trends, was released on opportunities in emerging markets. Apparently, the markets existing in India, China, Indonesia, and the Phillipines have too many people and not enough technology to go around. Over 75% of small businesses in these countries don't own PCs, but 25% or more (depending on country) of that non-owning group plan to buy one within 12 months.

AMI Partners believes that this four-nation Asian market is a prime target for a company willing to make a cheap enough PC. New businesses in India are especially interested - 40% of non-owning businesses want to buy a PC within the next year, and demand is expected to increase the cost considerably.

Got a thought on this rather ironic set of events? Let us hear about it in our forums.
Quote DXR_13KE 14th November 2006, 00:17
Personal Internet Communicator (PIC), i remember this... but did it ever get launched for general public to buy? never heard of it around here.
Quote geek1017 14th November 2006, 00:56
I too remember the announcement that it would happen, just no release or sales information.
Sounds like it was doomed to failure if they didn't bother telling anybody about it.
If I were doing something like this I would ship a few hundred sample units around and have locals act as demonstrators.
Of course this is all dependent on electrical supply which is also lagging behind in the developing world.
Quote Cthippo 14th November 2006, 01:06
From the PC World article...
Quote:
"When we were launching it, our intention was not to be the manufacturer," said Eric DeRitis, AMD's global communications director. "We developed a reference unit but since no one else was producing that kind of device, we fell into the role of manufacturer."

DiRitis said that demand in Latin America and Africa has been quite high but in other countries such as China, demand was not what they had hoped. Also, a botched deal to sell PICs through RadioShack did not help AMD's cause.

"That did not come to fruition the way we had hoped," DeRitis said. "We had set up a deal with Radio Shack for people in the US to be able to buy the PIC through their online store. I have no idea why that ended up not being completed, but basically the deal was struck and we didn't move forward with it, so a lot of the units that we provided them to sell, they were not going to sell. So they ended up returning them to us."

For now, the partners who helped AMD make the PIC in each country will continue to support the machine.

DeRitis said that AMD is working on a replacement program for the PIC that will be launched in early 2007, though he could not give any details about it.

"That's why this wasn't seen as any huge thing," he said. "Because we already know that we're moving onto the next thing."


SOunds like a good idea that didn't quite come out right.
Quote musicmaster 14th November 2006, 10:18
I never understood the need for a special pc for developping countries.

I believe there is a broad need for something simple, stingy on energy, cheap and not too big. But not just in developping countries, but also in children's rooms, weekend houses, campers, poor people's houses, etc.
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