REFLECTING TRANSMETA'S single-purpose determination to be the leader in the low-power processor space, an official for the company said last week that the deployment of the company's Crusoe processor in ultraportable notebook computers in the Asia-Pacific region is an indicator of what is to come in the U.S. marketplace.

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Although Crusoe has only recently begun to appear in ultrathin portable computers from manufacturers such as Sony, Hitachi, and Fujitsu, Asia-Pacific customers are responding enthusiastically to the Crusoe chip, which Transmeta claims can run complex operating environments such as Microsoft Windows 2000 with as little as 1 watt of power.

"The workforce in Japan, for instance, is more mobile than the U.S. workforce," said Ed McKernan, director of marketing at Transmeta, in Santa Clara, Calif. "What we are seeing as trends from our Japanese friends with the ultralight mobile computers, it appears is becoming the mainstream market."

Chris Hawk, CTO of Solid State Design, an Internet consulting and hosting service based in Denver that deploys a mixed bag of mobile computers to its sales force, agreed that battery life is a key issue with mobile computer users, but said the price will have to be right.

"I get a lot of complaints about how batteries aren't lasting long enough," Hawk said. "And having to carry around an additional battery adds extra weight."

News last week that Fujitsu will offer a Crusoe-powered laptop with built-in wireless capabilities -- following a recent similar commitment by Sony -- interests Hawk, but he maintains some reservations.

"Wireless has yet to take full shape as I see it," Hawk said. "There are a lot of different standards developing right now. I would be interested, but it all depends on the specifics, what type of technology is it, and who's the access provider."