Sharp announces the first U.S. notebook to use Transmeta’s new Efficeon processor today in its Actius MM20 computer. Transmeta’s older chip, the Crusoe, was fairly popular with manufacturers (especially among the Japanese extra-small PC set,) but lacked enough horsepower to be considered for most U.S. business-class laptops. With a claimed 1.4 times the performance of the Crusoe, and roughly the same power draw, the Efficeon stands to merit at least a second glance from U.S. buyers that lusted after the long battery life of ‘Transmeta Inside’ laptops, but found the processor too slow for serious use.
Still, Sharp says the Actius MM20 is designed as a ‘second notebook’ for executives, which does make one slightly leery of its real-world performance.
