I read the andandtech one, there seems to be a running theme with recent AMD low power chips.
They perform better than the competition, but the power usage they're coming in makes the results meaningless as they wouldn't get considered for the market they're aimed at.
You'd want half that 4.5w unless you're talking about going for the higher end just below the i5 tablets.
Their power usage is fine, and Temash/Kabini power usage is very good. There have been a spate of reviews lately retesting Kabini with a lower power PSU and they are on par/ahead of bay trail in power usage.
The issue is a 400-500W psu with a 25W tdp isn't efficient. Reviews are showing along the lines of dropping from 25W idle for the system to 12W moving from a 400W psu to a 65W laptop power adaptor.
Power usage is good but needs to get better, but this is the same curve pretty much every company is on. Intel has had more generations of chips, desktop and mobile, over the past 5-6 years. AMD is making the same power adjustments effectively per generation, maybe on a steeper curve, but with the products more spread out. Since the reorganisation these architecture steps are becoming more frequent. Kabini to Puma is architecturally small but power management features a huge jump and really very close together.
It's a great chip, the only reason that AMD isn't getting more tablet and lower end laptop wins is simple, contra revenue.
AMD offers a great chip at $20, Intel offers a slower, similar power usage chip at $40 book price..... but offers the company a million chips with $35 off...... end of story.
Intel is happy making $1billion losses PER QUARTER to get every tablet win out there for x86 chips. it's completely dodgy and completely ridiculous and Intel have been getting away with it one way or another for two decades.
I think at this stage AMD needs to put the money in and make itself a Tegra Note style device and find some ways to make it the only product to buy. Subsidise it, not take a loss but accept very little in profit. Make it have killer features, make a PS4 tie in, advertise on PS4 store, have some PS4 + tablet bundles in Amazon, make a second screen ap for PS4 + amd tablet only. I genuinely don't know if PS4 does a second screen stuff or only works with Vita. If only Vita then if they make the only tablet that works a completely different size and price range then it shouldn't take away from vita sales at all.
AMd is fighting situations where say Dell were making AMD based computers, but they basically barely or don't advertise them on their website. Multiple stories that if you phone them up and ask for AMD only devices you would get told of multiple products not on the website, for years. AMD had 3-4 really great value and well made lenovo laptops with Kabini in, but it was almost impossible to find the few AMD devices over the page full of Intel adverts for laptops with Intel chips.
Intel, outside of chip subsidies just pays out billions in marketing, so that major laptop makers who make some great AMD products get drowned out through Intel adverts on their store pages.
It's not remotely a fair fight on product vs product or price vs price.
If Intel has the better chip like a i5/i7, they price it up and use marketing to stop people seeing cheaper alternatives. If they have a similar/worse chip(atoms) then they subsidies the chips directly and making AMD chips a bad choice financially. AMD can't win either fight and can't afford the lawsuit they should be filing as Intel can just, like last time, drag it on for years costing 100's of millions, billions if it takes long enough.