AMD is to develop a series of barebones notebook PCs in a bid to bring OEMs and system builders into the company's fold, the chip maker said yesterday.

Speaking at the firm's annual analyst conference, Marty Seyer, head of AMD's microprocessor business, said the system would bundle AMD processors, integrated chipsets from ATI and Nvidia, plus ancillary I/O chips.

Seyer said the systems would help smaller computer-makers bring notebooks to market more quickly, CRN reports.

With almost all of the world's laptops being designed and manufactured in Taiwan, there's a ready supply of no-name notebooks for smaller computer-makers to buy in, rebadge and ship out. But just as they've opted for barebones desktops they can kit out themselves, it has been suggested such firms will favour similarly empty notebook chassis which they can customise and differentiate. Intel has been pushing this idea for some time, and now so is AMD.

AMD also hopes the move will bring it wider support for its mobile processors, which have languished somewhat in the shadow of Intel's Centrino platform. ®