Toshiba the Company that invented the notebook and the now doomed HD DVD format is set to role an entertainment notebook and an LCD TV screen that will incorporate the cell processor which is the heart and soul of the Sony PS3. The Company is also looking at a new graphics processor and the use of Sony’s SpursEngine graphics processor which will allow modified games such as Grand Theft Auto to be played on a Toshiba device.
Toshiba executives have told SmartHouse that their decision to get out of the HD DVD market has fuelled motivation in the Company that could well lead to the Company becoming a key player in the gaming and TV content market.
“We are looking at the gaming market and we are also looking at delivering a gaming experience via a new generation of notebooks and TV’s. We have the experience to deliver performance” said a Toshiba executive.
Toshiba has also confirmed that will use the PS3’s core Cell processor to enable some unique features not normally seen on consumer television sets. Among those features is a processor that will allow consumers to zoom in on a sporting incident such as a goal or tackle even before a TV station has done a playback.
The move by Toshiba to incorporate technology traditionally found in the Sony PS3 into TV’s and notebooks could be a massive benefit for gaming Companies who have traditionally had to rely on the success of the Playstation and Xbox consoles said Craig Woolford an Analyst from Citigroup.
Toshiba who believe that the future is content delivered to a notebook or TV screen is also set to introduce real-time up scaling of SD signals into HD resolution.
The new Toshiba entertainment notebook which is expected to launch in Q4 2008 will allow Full HD movies to be played while also allowing gaming and media centre management. The new TV’s are expected late in 2009.
Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida revealed his plan to release a TV that features the “Cell” microprocessor and a notebook PC equipped with the “SpursEngine” at a financial presentation in Tokyo.
He said that Toshiba aims to achieve average growth of more than 9% in annual sales over the next three years by aggressively expanding the Company.
Toshiba’s expansion plan shows its willingness to maintain its competitiveness after it pulled out of the race to market the next-generation HD DVD player..
The company said it has earmarked a capital investment budget of 2.2 trillion yen to help finance the expansion through fiscal 2011, up by 500 billion yen over the previous three-year period.
In the market for flash-memory-based personal computer drives, known as solid-state drives, or SSD, its competitive position will depend on how soon its rivals can clear technical hurdles to supply such a device, he said.
“We want to get a market share of at least 50% [in the SSD market] as the number of semiconductor makers capable of developing high technologies needed is very small,” he said. “But even if our share falls from 50% to, say 40%, we will still have a big share in the expanded market and our sales will be considerably higher then.”
