The Hindu Business Line : ‘Next gen mobiles a threat to digicams, MP3 players’

Hyderabad, Jan. 6 Next generation mobile phones with superior processing capabilities could threaten digital cameras, MP3 players and other similar handy devices.

With most mobile phones now coming with better cameras, 8 megapixel cards and MP3 functionality built into them, these devices may not exist in current form, according to Mr Dirk Meyer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).

Making a presentation on ‘Semiconductor innovation at crossroads’ at the International VLSI Conference here on Sunday, Mr Meyer said that the pace of processor development and its ability to pack multiple functions through general purpose processors are poised to make a big difference to various consumer electronics and devices made out of them.

The semiconductor industry has witnessed significant investments in R&D over the last two decades and it would be difficult for the industry to sustain such investments over the next decade as the quest is for greater performance at lower cost. The cost of development has gone up significantly over the years, he said.

There have been a few changes in the way processors were being designed which could be considered disruptive in nature. These changes also bring about greater flexibility to package multiple processing to serve as general purpose processors (GPUs).

The market for stream computing —ability to handle multiple tasks and graphics capabilities— would become mainstream. This would also accelerate critical computational algorithms, he said.

Referring to some of the recent company innovations on the processors, Mr Meyer said that Indian designers at Bangalore played a critical role.

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