AMD reveals three new Yukon notebooks

From Gateway, BenQ and Medion

4 June 2009 11:39 GMT / By Lars-Göran Nilsson

At a press conference during Computex, AMD displayed three new thin and light notebooks based on its Yukon platform from Gateway, BenQ and Medion.

All three models were quite different and all had some unique features. The designs differ quite a lot from the HP dv2 which was the first AMD Yukon device. HP has an exclusive on the platform for an initial time period, but this is about to expire, hence the new models on display.

The Medion Akoya E1312 features an HDMI port, an Express Card slot, a Sempron U210 processor and an 11.6-inch display, which seems to be the new 12-inch on many smaller notebooks.

The BenQ Joybook Lite T131 also has an HDMI port, an Express Card slot and the same processor, but we're not sure about the display size.

Finally the Gateway ZA8 features a built in 3G modem and a faster Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, although it seems to lack HDMI connectivity and the Express Card slot.

Sadly AMD didn't provide any more detailed specifications than above, or for that matter a launch date for any of the notebooks. However, we'd expect to see these new Yukon based notebooks turn up within the next couple of months and they will most likely be priced lower than the HP dv2, although we doubt they'll be as cheap as most netbooks.

On the upside the Yukon platform has much better graphics than Intel's Atom platform, which should appeal to those that want to watch HD video on their notebook.