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IBM, Toshiba, Sony to renew Cell partnership

The three companies plan to develop new chip technology for use in consumer electronics beyond Sony's PlayStation 3.

Reuters
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IBM, Sony and Toshiba will renew a five-year partnership that produced the Cell microprocessor, the heart of Sony's PlayStation 3 game console.

Terms of the renewal weren't disclosed. The companies said Wednesday they plan to develop new chip technology for a variety of consumer electronics uses such as televisions, audio equipment and video games.

The three companies invested about $400 million in the first phase of the partnership, which began in 2000 and resulted in the Cell, a high-powered chip that runs game consoles.

The renewed partnership will focus on fundamental research for next-generation chip technology at 32 nanometers and smaller.