AMD Abandons Low-Cost PC Project

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission has disclosed that AMD has abandoned the Personal Internet Communicator project due to lack of market interest and slow sales. Part of the chipmaker's "50x15" initative, aimed at equipping 50 percent of the worlds popular with Internet access by 2015, the device never took off.

"Revenue from sales of PIC products has not been material and in the third quarter of 2006, the Company stopped manufacturing PIC products," the company said in the filing. The demise of the PIC brings into question the viability of other low-cost PC efforts. However, unlike the so-called "$100 laptop" and a similar project by Intel, the PIC had no monitor included and was fairly expensive at about $185 USD.