Intel Corporation demonstrated the anticipated Larrabee graphics processor earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum. Sean Maloney, chief sales and marketing officer for Intel, showed off a working version of the chip rendering a game environment built on ray tracing, a resource demanding technique for generating high-quality 3D graphics and often used with professional animated features.
The Larrabee chip was used in conjunction with the hexa-core “Gulftown” processor scheduled for release next year. The graphics processor is based on “Westmere” 32-nanometer architecture. Intel’s first Westmere-based chip is due to ship in the final quarter of 2009.
Maloney said that Larrabee will eventually be used for a discrete graphics card used in high-end gaming PCs and workstations. “We’ve got a discrete product coming up,” he said. It will be incorporated in system-on-a-chip (SoC) products for handheld devices, according to Maloney. He said it will be an easier programming platform for developers since it is built on x86 architecture.
“We’re keeping the programming model very close to what would be seen as conventional,” Maloney said. In the mean-time, Intel is reading new integrated graphics technology, an area that the chip-maker dominates in.
Result for: handheld devices
Dell is reportedly making a comeback to the handheld device market and could be teaming up with large manufacturer Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) to develop Windows Mobile-based handheld devices.
The company, which ended it Axim handheld line 2 years ago, has been reorganizing for a comeback since early 2007 with the hiring of Ron Garriques, a former executive vice president at Motorola in charge of its Cell phone division.
Apparently, Dell has accelerated its reorganization since “Acer’s recent announcement of acquiring Taiwan-based smartphone maker E-Ten Information Systems.”
The sources have also added that Foxconn is “recruiting talent from other Taiwan-based handset makers in preparation for accepting orders from Dell.”
We will keep you updated.
Result for: handheld devices
Sky, the British TV network has announced that its highly anticipated on-demand TV service Go!View will hit the Sony PSP this summer.
The service will allow owners of the gaming handheld to use the built-in Wi-Fi “to watch shows offered on Sky independently of the satellite connection.” Users will have the option to either pay-per-view or sign up for a monthly flat-rate subscription model. The company did say the shows could be downloaded on a PC first then transferred to the PSP later if the viewer chooses.
The network did not yet release a list of the content that will be available or the pricing structure but say they expect to offer everything from sports to full movies. There was also no word on whether the service would be PSP-exclusive or if it would expand to other handheld devices such as the iPod Touch for one example.
