AMD Steadfastly Supports Laptop Rental Innovation

While many other tech manufacturers are rushing to the new mobile markets (smartphones, tablets, etc.) one old hat is staying the course. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a big name in the sector, has just announced a new addition to its desktop and laptop processors.

Here we were worrying we might need to cut back on our laptop rental inventory out of lack of innovation. We're happy to see it isn't so.

That's not to say the tablet market isn't booming -- or that it isn't of substantial interest to us. But for our target market of enterprise and business class consumers, a solid, well-performing laptop is an essential tool for training or more in-depth business purposes.

But in a realm where other bellwether companies like Hewlett-Packard may be selling their PC divisions, this move might be considered rather dicey.

AMD might not be as crazy as it seems. Statistics show that tablets (read: iPads) are popular – so many companies have gone the “safe” route, making decisions based on demand data, rather than sensibility. Tech makers wanting to last into the next decade will need to try a new strategy: venturing into uncharted territory.

The road to success lies in targeting niche markets with new, creative products. In some ways, they’ve already begun this specialization process. Lenovo's been putting an emphasis on its ThinkCentre Servers, and HP's still got an advantage in the printer sector (thanks, ironically, to an AirPrinter alliance with HP).

Apple’s got a death grip on the mobile PC market, but other companies are still flinging millions upon millions of dollars at the problem, trying to manufacture a tablet worthy of competition.

Meanwhile, Apple sits pretty, gorging itself on its dominance, while these other companies go bust.

Case in point: poor, poor HP. It’s recent “fire sale” of failed HP TouchPad tablets is an illuminating glimpse into where, exactly, the world is going. Capitalism wins out again. Try to compete with an inferior product and fail. Innovate, and succeed.

As for us, we’ll be waiting for the next gen round of products, whether they’re laptops, tablets, or something else entirely.