The Hindu : Business : IBM, Sony, Toshiba unveil microprocessor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 09, 2005

Business

Business

IBM, Sony, Toshiba unveil microprocessor

SAN FRANCISCO, FEB. 8. Setting up a battle for the future of computing, engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba have unveiled details of a microprocessor they claim has the muscle of a supercomputer and can power everything from video game consoles to business computers.

Devices built with the processor, code-named Cell, will compete directly with the PC chips that have powered most of the world's personal computers for a quarter century.

Cell's designers yesterday say their chip, built from the start with the burgeoning world of rich media and broadband networks in mind, can deliver ten times the performance of today's PC processors.

It also will not carry the same technical baggage that has made most of today's computers compatible with older PCs. That architectural divergence will challenge the current dominant paradigm of computing that Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. have fostered.

The new chip is expected to be used in Sony Corp.'s next-generation PlayStation game console. Toshiba Corp. plans to incorporate it into high-end televisions. And IBM Corp. has said it will sell a workstation with the chip starting later this year. Beyond that, companies are remaining coy about where it might be used and whether it will be compatible with older technology. — AP

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