VIA CEO Wenchi Chen Introduces Nano-ITX Mainboard
and the Dawn of Digital Intelligence at VTF2003
New tiny Nano-ITX form factor is the future for Totally
Connected smart digital lifestyle devices, while Empowered
Connectivity looks to creating a whole new market of
first-time users
VIA Technology Forum, Taipei, Taiwan, 24 September
2003 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and
developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform
solutions, today outlined a clear vision for a tri-segmented
industry during the opening keynote presentation of
the VIA Technology Forum 2003, taking place Wednesday
24 September 2003 in Taipei, Taiwan.
In his keynote, VIA President and CEO Wenchi Chen showed
how the IT industry is undergoing its fourth major Revolution
as it moves from the PC era to the age of Total Connectivity,
providing a host of new challenges as well as new opportunities,
bringing tremendous growth for the industry but requiring
considerable innovation at both the silicon and system
levels to satisfy a more diverse set of user demands.
Chen then introduced the Dawn of Digital Intelligence;
first noting the inexorable move to digitizing our information
streams such as communication and entertainment, and
then seeing how the PC platform extends perfectly into
convergence devices to enable more intelligent and sophisticated
digital media management and manipulation. This transition
is segmenting the IT industry into three distinct tiers:
High Definition Computing, Total Connectivity and Empowered
Connectivity.
High Definition Computing is focused on technological
advances on the PC platform that facilitate the creation
of digital intelligence; Total Connectivity is defined
as the proliferation of digital intelligence through
the home, office, school, industry and mobile world
through a wide spectrum of connected devices; and Empowered
Connectivity is the provision of affordable yet feature
rich platforms to enable the billions of digital have-nots
access to the world of digital information. There is
a clear cascade effect of technological innovation and
digital intelligence, originating in the High Definition
arena and being incorporated into Totally Connected
devices and eventually into Empowered Connectivity systems.
And VIA is providing technologies to facilitate each
segment of this new market environment.
"Across the board, VIA silicon and platform solutions
form the building blocks for each of these key segments,"
said Wenchi Chen, President and CEO of VIA Technologies,
Inc. "For High Definition Computing, VIA provides
leading core logic, audio, networking and graphics solutions
to help raise the performance bar on the PC platform
and support advanced technologies and applications,
in the Totally Connected home we have our new Infotainment
Server reference design with enriched audio and video
capabilities, along with a wide range of exciting new
smart digital partner innovations also on show at Computex
this week."
"Empowered Connectivity aims to enable the billions
of 'digital have-nots' access to the knowledge and education
available on the Internet, allowing them to make more
informed choices and so improve their standard of living,"
noted Chen. "So we are working with key industry
partners and governments to bring cost effective but
feature rich products to market focused on connecting
and communicating, to provide those people with those
education and communication resources, as well as entertainment
and commerce."
Chen reviewed the incredible success of the VIA EPIA
Mini-ITX mainboard series, as in just over 18 months
it has inspired hundreds of companies and individuals
to create new form factor PCs and digital lifestyle
devices with enhanced digital media, networking or communications
capabilities, as well as numerous unique case mods.
He then displayed the VIA Nano-ITX mainboard, at just
12cm x 12cm, the smallest ever standard platform with
full PC functionality, which is ideally suited for the
next generation of smaller, quieter, digitally intelligent
home, office, mobile, industrial and commercial devices.
Declared "the shape of things to come" by
Chen, the Nano-ITX board will be launched later this
year.
About the VIA Technology Forum
The VIA Technology Forum (VTF) showcases VIA's commitment
to develop an innovative open architecture technology
platform that enables our partners to design, manufacture
and market products that exploit the possibilities and
enhance the scope and utility of Internet connectivity.
The theme, 'Total Connectivity: The Revolution' reflects
how the PC platform is completing the revolution from
a computing machine to a connecting device that fits
smoothly into our living environment, and embraces the
key elements of VIA's Total Connectivity vision, including
convergence, pervasive connectivity, increased functionality
in mobile devices and the trend towards smaller and
quieter systems, and looks at how they have created
a momentum in the industry for system design innovation,
making the living room PC and the always-connected consumer
a reality.
The technology tracks are Performance Computing, looking
at key technologies that will drive further advances
in performance in home and enterprise systems, including
performance processing, memory technologies, and peripheral
and chip interconnects; and Connected Lifestyle, covering
elements of the Total Connected lifestyle, from technology
trends in notebooks, mobile devices and phones, to digital
media platforms and embedded applications, with a focus
on real end market applications.
VTF2003 comprises three one-day events in Taipei, Beijing
and Tokyo on the 24th, 26th and 30th of September respectively,
and has attracted major sponsors including AMD, Elpida,
Hynix, Infineon, InterVideo, Maxtor, Micron, Microsoft
and Phoenix. For more information on the VIA Technology
Forum 2003, please visit the website at: www.via.com.tw/vtf.jsp.
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