Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Fred Levine who wrote (12219)	11/29/2004 8:35:49 AM
From: Fred Levine	Respond to of 25522

Also from the NY Times: Chip Developed With PlayStation in Mind By KEN BELSON Published: November 29, 2004 Sony's next PlayStation is more than a year away, but there is plenty of appetite for clues to its enhancements. Today, the Sony Corporation and its entertainment arm as well as I.B.M. and Toshiba will reveal some of the first details of the Cell chip, jointly developed by the three companies, that will form the basis of the next generation of PlayStation game consoles. The chip, which is still being designed, has been one of the most guarded secrets in the entertainment, semiconductor and computing industries since the companies started work on it in 2001. Industry analysts expect the new PlayStation to be released in late 2005 or early 2006. The advanced chip will include multiple processors versatile enough to provide richer video images, multiplayer gaming and the addition of still pictures, audio and other media, the companies and analysts said. Sony plans to introduce high-definition televisions powered by Cell in 2006, while I.B.M. says the Cell chip has the potential to be included in other consumer electronics and computing products, the companies said. I.B.M. and Sony also said they were testing a workstation driven by the Cell chip that will be used by video game makers and producers of special effects. To handle all these functions, the Cell will have separate microprocessors that manage specific jobs simultaneously, as well as allow for data to be sent and received at high speeds over broadband lines. This is a step ahead of the current generation of chips that typically have one microprocessor and can manage more limited amounts of data and functions at a time. "The Cell processor is probably the first major change in chip processors in 10 to 20 years because there are multiple brains" inside the chip, said Richard Doherty, the president and research director at the Envisioneering Group, a technology consultant in Seaford, N.Y. "With previous chip generations, communications was an afterthought. It was just about how fast it goes and never about the richness of the gasoline." Though Sony has said little about the successor to the PlayStation 2, analysts expect it to range far beyond games. The current machine has a DVD player and offers access to the Internet to allow for multiplayer games online. But with Cell inside, the new machine may also be able to download satellite television signals and connect to digital cable set-top boxes, Mr. Doherty and other analysts said. Because the machine is expected to include a hard drive, users may also be able to store photos and videos. The Cell-driven machine is expected to display video and pictures in high definition. The workstations with Cell inside will allow video game developers and special effects producers to create products in a fraction of the time it takes now, the companies said. That could reduce the cost of making movies and video games, a potential boon for movie studios. fred

To: Fred Levine who wrote (12219)	11/29/2004 8:42:31 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

That NYT article sounds quite different than what Sony is saying: Sony unprepared for flat-panel TV demand Published: November 27, 2004, 8:50 AM PST By Reuters TrackBack Print E-mail TalkBack LONDON--Sony, the world's largest consumer-electronics group, is having trouble meeting soaring demand for flat-panel televisions as its assembly lines did not gear up quickly enough, a senior executive said. "We are having trouble meeting demand in flat TVs," Chris Beering, president of Sony Europe, told Reuters on Friday, adding that the assembly lines were working flat out. "I do not think there is overcapacity in assembly." There was no problem in the supply of the panels. The bottlenecks at the Japanese firm's own plants come at an awkward time ahead of the Christmas shopping season, when 30 cents in every dollar spent by consumers on electronics goes on televisions, and much of that to the new flat TVs. Beering said these were "anxious times" for Sony as it was busy catching up with Dutch rival Philips Electronics, which is leading the market for flat televisions in Europe. Beering said that in the six months to end-September, Sony Europe's sales rose 5 percent, and a big factor behind the increase was flat-panel television sales. Sony had a market share in Europe of 15.8 percent at end-September, up 2.5 percentage points, compared to Philips' 18.8 percent. Beering added that since that month, new Sony products had caught on well, and Sony's market share was up. A key component in flat screens is indium-tin-oxide (ITO), which is pasted on the glass. Surging demand for flat-panel display TVs and monitors has driven indium metal prices to $900 per kilogram, the highest level since 1939.

To: Fred Levine who wrote (12219)	11/29/2004 9:45:14 AM
From: Bookdon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Something to consider: I don't know about current costs, but several years ago I had some technical dealings with a TV manufacturer that was building a glass factory. When I questioned them about why they would want to build a factory for a commodity product like glass, they explained that the largest single cost item in a mid-range TV set was the glass. Traditional CRT-type TV glass requires a special formulation to block the x-rays generated by the electron beam. The transition to plasma, LCD, and projection TV will greatly reduce the glass cost (along with the associated weight and volume, both of which affect the shipping costs). It is probable that manufacturing efficiencies, along with these glass-related cost reductions, will allow the leaders to maintain profit margins, even as the prices drop.