Completion of Sony's CELL nears

News - PS3 chip primed and almost ready...

The Playstation 3, and several other unspecified examples of bleeding-edge technology, took a step closer today with news from Toshiba president Tadashi Okamura that development work on the CELL microprocessor is nearly complete. The 'CELL' has been in development alongside IBM and Sony, and will enter full production next year.

The new chip "will be used in IBM's computer, Sony's game machine, and Toshiba's digital consumer electronics, among other things," Okamura informed the Nikkei Journal, adding succinctly "It will change the world." Which sounds kind of promising.

The new CELL chip could be used as many as eight times in the PS3, and is designed with communication and graphical related routines in mind. The CELL is also specifically created to be used 'en masse', with multiple processors linked to break-up larger processing tasks.

Sony and Toshiba are expected to use CELL in consumer electronics, such as TVs, set-top boxes and mobile phones, whilst IBM and Sony may also create high-end workstations utilising the tech to be sold to relevant industries. A full unveiling for the Playstation 3, meanwhile, is expected sooner rather than later, and we look forward to furnishing you with further news then.