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Sony, IBM, Toshiba reveal the 'Cell'

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CIOL Bureau
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TOKYO: IBM, Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. on have unveiled some key details on the powerful new "Cell" processor the three are jointly producing to run next-generation computers, game consoles and TVs.



In a joint release, IBM said it would start pilot production of the microprocessor, which will be 10 times more powerful than conventional chips and able to shepherd large chunks of data over a high-speed Internet network, in the first half of 2005.



IBM said it would first use the microchip in a workstation it is developing with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the games unit of Sony.



Sony said it would launch home servers and high-definition televisions powered by Cell in 2006, and reiterated plans to use the microchip to power the next-generation PlayStation game console, a working version of which will be unveiled in May.



Toshiba said it planned to launch a high-definition TV using Cell in 2006.



"The progressive breakdown between personal computers and digital consumer electronics requires dramatic enhancements in the capabilities and performance of consumer electronics," Masashi Muromachi, president of Toshiba's chip division, said in the release.



The companies said they would unveil technical details about Cell at the International Solid State Circuits Conference scheduled for Feb. 6 to 10, 2005, in San Francisco.

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