Nvidia's GoForce technology for mobile phones
Nvidia GoForce
The product: Everyone is no doubt excited about the technological Swiss Army Knife that is the Gizmondo, a gaming device that also sports myriad communication capabilities. At the heart of the Gizmondo is Nvidia's GoForce 3D 4500 wireless media processor: a chip that is capable of taking still photos as large as three megapixels and playing back VGA-quality video of as fast as 30fps. Nvidia is currently partnered with Motorola and Mitsubishi in the creation of mobile phones that boast excellent video and photo quality. Besides providing cell phone users with a richer graphical experience, offloading a mobile's visual duties from its CPU to a graphics processor has the added benefit of saving battery life since the graphics processor handles its duties more efficiently. Other features to be found with GoForce 3D 4500-capable mobiles:

• In conjunction with third-generation technology, users will be able to benefit from mobile video conferencing
• More powerful graphics means a richer user interfaces
• Menus and interfaces will respond more quickly

The prospects: While manufacturers search for the killer app, it may be that creating media-capable handhelds that handle all graphical duties, from gaming and photos to video, will be the key.

By William O'Neal, senior editor, CNET Reviews