Abstract

As evident from the above, the reason for the great deal of importance placed on Cell is not just due to hardware design. Rather, the significance derives from the potential that the overall concept and resulting application environment hold for the enablement of next generation content and network design.

A New Weapon

The Cell processors and application architecture initiated by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba are certainly not limited to game consoles and digital televisions; rather, these markets are simply the initial proving ground. Ambitions for the Cell concept are quite far-ranging, encompassing handheld terminals, such as PDAs, as well as servers to provide service support and help complete the loop that forms a total application environment.

With an emerging environment of networked digital content, formerly discrete consumer electronics and IT hardware devices are starting to converge. Although up to now Wintel architecture has reigned supreme in the sphere of IT, Cell is rising up to challenge the mainstream. Added the unique competencies of IBM, Sony, and Toshiba, these three players are quite likely to create a whole new application domain in the future.

Potential in the Digital A/V Space

The modularized nature of Cell processors, along with the cell objects of the software layer, constitute a platform that is both flexible and efficient to address the growing variety of digital A/V media. No matter if the technology is to enable wireless handles to transmit video, or allow for game players across the globe to interact through networked consoles, the Cell concept is able to address these disparate needs. This would allow for users to choose the best device for the best place, without being confined by hardware and software.

The Living Room: Ground Zero

As the Cell processor's primary application includes game consoles and digital televisions, ambitions for becoming the living room entertainment center are quite obvious; however, Cell faces competition from Wintel incumbents pushing the Media Center PC, as well as Panasonic's UniPhier platform. Added similar ambitions from the likes of service and content providers, primarily through set-top-boxes, the living room is getting quite crowded.

Living room entertainment can be divided into four major domains: video, A/V storage, gaming, and IT applications. The Media Center PC holds the advantage in the storage and IT segments, while set-top-boxes give service providers the edge in video; Cell, of course, has a strong position in gaming. There are thus at least three different platforms that have a unique edge in the living room.

Whoever can create the environment most suited to user living rooms will be the one that guides the market. However, the variety of digital applications prevents the possibility that one single product could fully address all functional and operational requirements, hence resulting in the functionally segmented market that is the current status quo. Having a flexible and efficient architecture is therefore key. Cell processors are already designed for flexibility and efficiency; implementation into actual devices would go a long way toward inspiring growth.

Boosting Virtual Integration, Building an Ecosystem

Of the devices that occupy the living room, the PC and game console need to evolve from their processor-centric foundations, while pure playback televisions cannot meet the demand for two-way interactivity. Hardware, software, and services need to be integrated to forge a suitable environment.

Once digital multimedia becomes more deeply ingrained in people's lives, usage patterns and habits will be significantly changed. The chance that a critical mass of consumers will use game consoles or televisions to send and receive e-mail or surf on the Internet could come true, while obstructions keeping IT hardware out of the consumer electronics space would have to be addressed by simpler, faster video sharing and storage. On the future digital A/V battlefield, whether PC vendor, software developer, CE maker, service provider, or content provider, the contestants that will win will need to successfully integrate shared and common offerings that suit a variety of user groups.

Appendix

Glossary of Terms