Transcript: CTIA WIRELESS 2006 - Andrew Humber, Senior PR Manager

This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/?p=523

CTIA WIRELESS 2006 - Andrew Humber, Senior PR Manager - Handheld Products, NVIDIA

Michael Johnson: This is PodTech.net, I'm Michael Johnson here on the floor of CTIA 2006, in Las Vegas and we're here at the NVIDIA base, and we're here with Andrew Humber who is the..

Andrew Humber: Senior PR Manager for handheld products.

Michael Johnson: Senior PR Manager for handheld products! So, tell me a little bit about what you're showing here at CTIA.

Andrew Humber: CTIA this year has given us the chance to show off the Go-Force 5500, which is the latest generation of our handheld graphics processing units, or GPUs. The Go-Force 5500 delivers a whole bunch of really great multimedia features for next-generation phones.

That includes all the video processing technology needed for mobile TV, we support all the major mobile TV standards, like DVBH, ISDBT, DNB for the Korean market as well. Really to bring the very best image quality to mobile phones that are offered on mobile TV services. We're also in the 5500 demonstrating H.264 encode and decode, so we can get really great high-resolution video, especially encode/decode simultaneously for applications such as video conferencing.

The 5500 also includes a surround sound audio processor. So not only can you enjoy great video on your phone, but now you can actually get simulated surround-sound effects, in the headphones.

Michael Johnson: Surround sound from your telephone?

Andrew Humber: Absolutely. While enjoying a movie, you can actually not miss out on the special effects just because you're watching it on a smaller screen. You can actually start to hear all of that inside the headphones, as well.

Michael Johnson: Now, NVDIA usually concentrates on graphics: What is your conscious decision to want to take that... I know you do the gaming, the gaming is really a strong part of what NVIDIA makes graphics processors for, but was the sound that important so that you wanted to bring it to even the mobile device like that?

Andrew Humber: NVIDIA has made an audio core before, in the N-Force two product line, we actually had a 5.1 surround sound audio processor in our motherboard products, but really what we're looking to do with the Go-Force brand is to off-load the system of as much multimedia as possible, and doing it in a dedicated piece of hardware.

Which means that we want to cover everything, all aspects of that, from video, to movies, to games, and audio is a key part of that. The reason we want to off-load that and do it in a dedicated piece of hardware, is so that we can reduce power.

Most phones today are doing all the multimedia and software, and that's a very battery-intensive operation; by off-loading that, and doing it in dedicated hardware, we can use perhaps up to 1/20 less power than you would do in a software equivalent.

As an example, with the Sony Erickson W900I - which we're showing on the stand today - we can get up to four hours of video playback on that device, which is two hours more than the video iPod. It means you can watch a full movie on that device, and you've still got enough juice to make a phone call, which is pretty important seeing as these are phones at the end of the day.

Michael Johnson: I guess NVIDIA sees a lot of movement to this mobile platform. This is pretty heavy dedication to it right here, we've got a number of.. Half a dozen, a dozen telephones in here. Do these all have the NVIDIA chip in them?

Andrew Humber: That's correct, yes.

Michael Johnson: And will all of them support the 5.1, or just the new Erickson?

Andrew Humber: The Sony Erickson actually uses the previous generation, that's the Go-Force 4800. The surround sound audio processor is in the 5500, so that'll be in the next generation of phones. We actually so have one phone on the stand today, which is the HTC device, which they have produced with Modeo, that's a mobile-TV phone, specifically for the U.S. Market. That's the first product we've shown that actually uses the 5500 core on board.

So we see a very distinct movement from computing devices into personal consumer electronics. There's a definite fusion between those two industries. NVIDIA is extremely well-placed to take advantage of that, having been a pioneer, if you like, of graphics and video technologies on the PC, and actually transitioning this technology into the handheld space.

Michael Johnson: It's been really aggressive, pro-active maybe is a better term for it, but it really seems, from past interviews we've done and past podcasts, with NVIDIA to really be there with gamers and others, supporting any platform where there's something to see...

Andrew Humber: Anywhere there's a pixel!

Michael Johnson: Now if people want to find out a little bit more about the telephone, and the 5.1 surround, and all of that, is there a place they can go?

Andrew Humber: Yep, if you go to www.NVIDIA.com, go into the products section and take a look at handhelds, you'll find a whole bunch of information there about the latest generation of Go-Force chip. And obviously in our press room, you'll find press releases about the up-and-coming designs as well as when they come out.

Michael Johnson: Speaking today with Andrew Humber from NVIDIA, who is the senior PR manager for handheld devices.