INTERVIEW-S3 Inc aims for consumer multimedia-CEO
Reuters Story - January 27, 1997 06:55
By Jacqueline Wong
SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuter) - U.S.-based semiconductor
company S3 Inc unveiled fresh initiatives on Monday to
merge high-end consumer electronics with the personal computer.
The integration of the best in audio, video and graphics
would open new opportunities for S3's continued growth,
president and chief executive officer Gary Johnson told Reuters.
"No one has been able to pull all three of those together,
even now when we have developed different competencies in audio
and graphics," Johnson said in an interview after announcing new
strategies for the company this year.
S3, Asia's largest supplier of graphics, video and
multimedia accelerators, could gain from merging these
technologies, especially if the Internet spurs further growth in
home computers.
Johnson said various technologies such as compression,
communications, high-quality video, audio, and 3-D graphics
would soon be integrated on to a single chip.
This combination would radically alter the course of
computing for the end-user and keep S3 competitive, he said.
"We believe there will be integration into modestly-priced
video-systems with computers and TV," Johnson said, adding that
these areas were starting to cross over.
Research to upgrade computer video quality to match that of
TV was already under way to meet anticipated consumer demand, he
said.
The mid-to-high range segment -- computers costing US$2,500
to US$3,500 -- would be the first to experience this form of
multimedia.
But while Asia had become a leader in the manufacture of
less expensive computers, he said S3 would be the first to try
bringing mid-range multimedia to the "zero-segment" market.
This would enable the end-user who owned a reasonably-priced
CPU (central processing unit) to upgrade the surrounding chips
at a lower price for improved sound and visuals, Johnson said.
Referring to moves to filter down technology, he said the
rationale there was partly inpired by emerging markets.
".... rapidly growing markets like China are value
conscious. They want the interactive encyclopaedias and karaoke,
but a good chunk of yearly income goes to giving a kid a PC,"
Johnson said.
S3 will open sales offices in Beijing and Singapore this
year. Beijing is the hub of PC manufacture while Singapore is in
near multinational PC manufacturers in Malaysia and has also a
high level of PC consumption.
Despite a generally dismal year for semiconductor companies
last year, S3 showed a sixth consecutive year of profits. |
