AMD aims to build middle ground between netbook and laptop

Disappointed with the tiny keyboard and minimal power of netbooks... but still don't want to shell out the big bucks for a full-fledged laptop?

AMD has a new(ish) idea for you, which they call the "ultrathin notebook."

The idea is to create a laptop in a form factor that's larger than the netbook/mini-notebook, with an 11- to 13-inch screen, but with only a moderately higher price. In AMD's view, ultrathins would cost between $499 and $1,499, considerably less than the stratospherically priced ultraportables of today that run about the same size. At the same time, the larger size would allow for higher-end components and, more importantly, a full-sized keyboard for your typing pleasure.

While today's netbooks are useless for much beyond web browsing and the occasional email, ultrathins could work as general computing devices and even casual gaming. And yet they'd still weigh less than four pounds and measure under an inch thick, so they'd be nearly as portable.

What's AMD's contribution to all of this? A new CPU called Athlon Neo coupled with a 3000 series ATI Radeon GPU (or a lower end chip for machines targeting a cheaper price point). AMD's benchmarks (to be taken lightly until independent test results arrive, of course) show a 1.6GHz Neo vastly outperforming the Intel Atom while showing the Core 2 Duo as still being 30 to 50 percent faster at the same clock speed. Of course, the Core 2 Duo costs over twice as much, too, so the trade-off might be a worthwhile one.

HP will be the first vendor with a Neo-based ultrathin machine, the Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook (seen above, full specs and pricing were not immediately available), which should be announced today alongside the Neo news. Hoping to see it in the flesh at CES later this week.