Chipmaker
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
(
AMD
) recently partnered with Aviary, a photo-editing toolkit maker,
to give Windows 8 users and developers a better, faster set of
photo-editing tools and features.
Aviary is a software firm that provides a fully customizable
software development kit (SDKs) for photo editing applications on
iOS, Android, Windows Phone and HTML5. Aviary's services are also
used by Flickr, Twitter and Photobucket, which integrate the
photo-editing features into their respective apps.
According to the agreement, all Windows 8-powered devices that
run AMD processors will be able to use Aviary's photo-editing
tool. The deal will help developers to quickly integrate and
deploy a host of photo editing tools into their apps, resulting
in performance improvement.
Additionally, Aviary has released its first Windows 8 app
through the Windows Store to showcase the features and
functionality of the Aviary SDK for Windows 8. Aviary stated that
with AMD APUs, photo effects can be processed up to 16X faster
than on other processors.
The new agreement with Aviary should increase the sale for
Windows 8 PCs. We believe the popularity and functionality of
Aviary's software should make it easier for Microsoft to convince
developers to build apps for Windows 8. Developers could now use
Aviary's toolkit instead of developing their own software, hence
reducing their workload and freeing up resources for other useful
purposes.
The collaboration is actually backed by an investment from AMD
Ventures to enhance user experiences on its APU platforms.
Given the current popularity of photo editing on the web, the
absence of a platform to easily deploy this feature within apps
was a huge drawback for the Windows app store. Hence, we believe
that apps with built-in photo editing features could be a
competitive advantage for Microsoft's Windows 8 PCs, laptops and
tablets.
We are positive about AMD's endeavor to support companies to
deliver innovative products and technologies to its customers.
However,
Intel Corp.
(
INTC
) is a very strong competitor with significant resources and
technological prowess. AMD on the other hand is struggling to
hold its own. Last week, the company signed an agreement to sell
its campus and lease back its property to unlock much-needed
cash.
AMD is the world's second largest maker of microprocessors but
it has been losing ground to its larger rival, Intel. In the last
concluded fourth quarter, AMD's revenues came in at $1.16
billion, down 31.7% and more or less in line with its revised
guidance of a 9% sequential decline (at the mid-point). However,
solid expense management helped the company to deliver earnings
ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Currently, Advanced Micro has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Semiconductor stocks worth considering at current levels include
Intersil Corporation
(
ISIL
) and
Qualcomm Inc.
(
QCOM
), both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
ADV MICRO DEV (AMD): Free Stock Analysis
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INTEL CORP (INTC): Free Stock Analysis Report
INTERSIL CORP (ISIL): Free Stock Analysis
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QUALCOMM INC (QCOM): Free Stock Analysis
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