PS3's Powerhouse Cell CPU to feature on Mobiles?

A roadmap for the processor on display by Toshiba at this week's Ceatec show in Japan shows a more powerful version of the chip under development for 2007. While details of the chip were not available, a source close to Toshiba said that the new device will be manufactured using more advanced 65-nanometer production technology. The current chips are being made on a 90nm line and the switch will mean lower power consumption and increased performance.

Looking further ahead the roadmap calls for further increases in power between next year and the end of the decade. At the same time "mid-class" versions of the processor are also envisaged for 2008 and beyond and a mobile version in 2010.

The Cell chip is the product of a joint development project by Toshiba, IBM, Sony and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI). Each chip contains a main processor and eight sub-processors to deliver about 200G Flops (floating point operations per second) of power.

It will make its consumer debut next month when SCEI puts the PlayStation 3 on sale in Japan and the U.S. but Toshiba has plans for the chip in other parts of the living room.