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Cyrix's MediaGX for Windows CE

Cyrix releases a 233-MHz version of its MediaGX processor and tries to create some momentum for the chip's adoption in Windows CE devices.

Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Michael Kanellos is editor at large at CNET News.com, where he covers hardware, research and development, start-ups and the tech industry overseas.
Michael Kanellos
2 min read
Cyrix released a 233-MHz version of its MediaGX processor and said it would try to foster the chip's adoption in Windows CE devices, making it the first Intel-compatible chipmaker to seek out this market.

The latest version of Cyrix's integrated processor comes after a series of design setbacks for the company. Both Compaq Computer and IBM scaled back their use of Cyrix products earlier this year.

Despite the reversals, the 233-MHz version of the MediaGX arrives with two design wins. The chip is available in the Amber line of consumer computers from IBM's Canadian division and in computers from CyberMax, a small vendor in Pennsylvania.

The introduction marks the first time Cyrix will try to convince manufacturers of Windows CE devices and set-top boxes to adopt the chip, according to Stan Swearingen, Cyrix's senior director of management and marketing. Cyrix is a subsidiary of National Semiconductor.

In related news, Bsquare, a Seattle-based software vendor, will release a kit Monday that will allow hardware manufacturers adopt the MediaGX for handheld devices more easily and rapidly than they could do on their own, a spokeswoman for Bsquare said.

Cyrix is working with any CE device vendors, according to a Cyrix spokeswoman. The Bsquare adapter kit, however, clears a path for development.

The MediaGX was the processor inside the Compaq Presario 2000 series, which many say ignited the sub-$1,000 PC craze. But despite the success of Cyrix boxes, Compaq dropped the MediaGX from its low-cost consumer desktops at the beginning of this year because the Richardson, Texas-based chipmaker could not guarantee volume quantities of the 233-MHz version of the processor, according to company executives.

Compaq, which still uses the MediaGX in one notebook, mostly uses K6 processors from Advanced Micro Devices in its low-end consumer desktops.

Similarly, IBM stopped using 6X86 processors from Cyrix in low-end desktops in favor of K6 chips.