X

Toshiba notebooks boost multimedia

NeoMagic multimedia technology will be used in Toshiba notebooks, the companies said today.

NeoMagic multimedia technology will be used in Toshiba notebooks, the companies said today.

NeoMagic's MagicGraph 128XD accelerators will be featured in Toshiba's upcoming Portege ultra-portable line. Such multimedia accelerator chipsets aid video and 3D graphics while conserving power.

Because the Portege is less than an inch thick and weighs under 3 pounds, these multimedia functions, which would be executed by single processors in a larger system, must be integrated into one chip.

Notebook manufacturers are using more powerful graphics chips across their product lines to compete with desktop PCs that typically offer the most powerful graphics processors. Companies such as IBM, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway use NeoMagic chips in their notebooks.

Toshiba recently announced the new Porteges, which will include a 300-MHz Pentium MMX processor, hard drive capacity of up to 6.4GB, and a 10.1-inch display for $1,999.

"The ultraportable category is now going mainstream and requires performance and multimedia capabilities just like the full-function notebooks," said Gerry Purdy, a mobile analyst with Mobile Insights, in a statement.