AMD has confirmed the existence of the Applebred processor, and said that the Duron-branded core has already begun shipping.

As we reported yesterday, Applebred - not, as we wrote, 'Appalbred', which was how Babelfish translated the original Russian report on the chip - is a low-end part equipped with just 64KB of on-die L2 cache and, as we guessed, a 266MHz frontside bus.

"We're aiming the part at certain markets, such as South America and Eastern Europe, where customers have asked us to extend the Duron line," said Baker.

Essentially, the chips will be targeted at the world's less wealthy nations where price is more important that performance. In the US, Europe and the Far East, where AMD is perceived as a provider of high-performance processors, the Duron range has been less successful than AMD's supporters might expect. However, in territories where having the latest, fastest systems is much less important, the Duron family has proved more popular than it is over here. Hence the need to maintain the line using the new core.

Baker said the three Applebred chips would not be explicitly offered in more mature PC markets, but if customers want them, they can have them.

AMD roadmaps have for some time signalled the demise of the Duron brand, replacing future chips in the family with the message 'according to market demand'. Clearly, that means some territories rather than others. ®

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