INTERVIEW-S3 Inc aims for consumer
multimedia-CEO
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. |
