Creative Teases the Zii
Creative will be unveiling a new processing chip at CES 2009. The chip will be called the “Zii”, a name not unlike that of Nintendo’s console. The chip might have a simplistic name, but according to their teaser site, it’s going to change everything. The Zii will be using “Stemcell computing”, whatever that means. That term has been trademarked by Creative just a couple of weeks ago, and it may raise a few eyebrows. We don’t know exactly what Creative means by Stemcell computing, but we’re definitely curious.
The chip has been top secret at Creative’s headquarters for some time now, and it looks to be one of the biggest projects they’ve invested in. We can’t reveal too much more about the chip right now, and we don’t want to spoil it for Creative. Just know this is completely different from their X-Fi audio chip and it will be used in a variety of upcoming products.
http://creativezii.com/
Creative Zii Platform Unveiled
Everything you did know about Creative has changed. Creative began with CEO Sim Wong Hoo developing an add on memory board for the Apple II. Welcome to the new generation of Creative Technology. Creative now is beginning their push into the processing market. They today unveiled the ZMS-05, a new supercomputing processor that is designed to work with a multitude of devices. It technically is a system on a chip. The ZMS-05 supports web browsing, HD playback, 3D graphics, touchscreen, and much more. 3DLabs finally became a fully integrated subsidiary of the company, changing its name to ZiiLabs and will begin drawing resources from Creative’s Personal Digital Entertainment division, the largest at the company. ZiiLabs is the brand that Creative will market the new Zii chip under. Click the read link for more in-depth information, including a excellent video.
The new chip is being built in collaboration with ARM (CPU core), Microsoft (Windows Media), and Opera (Internet). With support from these big names, device potential is extremely vast. GrandEye, a company promoting their 360° security camera, has been announced as a launch partner. Future partners include motherboard maker MSI, Astak, Perception Digital, and SiDa Electronics (HK). It’s also highly likely that Creative will no longer use competing processors from SigmaTel and Texas Instruments on its upcoming ZEN players.
[SIZE="4"]Creative Launches the Zii Platform and Ushers in the Era of StemCell Computing[/SIZE]
Creative Forms ZiiLABS and Ushers in the Era of StemCell Computing Where Nano-Sized Super Computing Will Be Available in Our Daily Lives through Flexible, Tiny, Powerful and Scalable SoC
CES, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. - Jan. 8, 2009 — Creative Technology Ltd. today announced the formation of ZiiLABS™ (a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative), with the combination of 3DLABS — which has a 25-year history as a leading innovator in programmable graphics, media and applications processing — and resources drawn from the largest product group in Creative, the Personal Digital Entertainment group.
The formation of ZiiLABS, the launch of the new ZiiLABS ZMS-05 SoC (System-On-Chip) and the new Zii™ Platform today usher in the new era of StemCell Computing™. The new ZiiLABS ZMS-05 SoC (System-On-Chip) will be unveiled and demonstrated from January 8-11 at the Consumer Electronics Show, South Hall booth #30651.
“We have invested a billion dollars and 10,000 man years of R&D effort over the last 25 years in platform solutions,” said Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative Technology Ltd. “The combination of the technology from 3DLABS and the product development prowess of our Personal Digital Entertainment group delivers a complete, powerful and energy efficient platform with a very rapid time-to-market for our partners - the Zii Platform.”
“We now look to shaping the future of computing with the introduction of the integrated ZMS-05 media-rich processor, and ushering in the new era of StemCell Computing where we will bring the incredible benefits of nano-sized super computing right into our daily lives,” said Hock Leow, president of ZiiLABS.”
This StemCell approach has benefits in terms of:
* Flexibility — Utilizing a breakthrough technology comprising of programmable Processing Elements (PEs) which are basically Software Defined Silicon
* Scalability — 10Gigaflops to Petaflops (1015 floating point operation per second)
* Energy Efficiency — Huge processing power of the ZMS-05 SoC enables it to perform more in less time, equating to low power consumption
* Complete Solution — Ready-for-Market Zii Platform Solutions
Unlimited Flexibility
Stem cells are the basic building blocks of life, possessing the unique ability to develop into the specialized cells and tissues required by organisms to function effectively. Inspired by this concept, the ZMS architecture uses an array of media-optimized Processing Elements (PE) as its stem cells that can instantly develop into any of the specialized acceleration functions required of today’s media rich devices and offering advantages in terms of flexibility, performance and features when compared to the fixed function silicon blocks traditionally used in SoC designs.
Incredible Scalability
The scalability of the ZMS architecture is highlighted in the first Teraflop Accelerator with the footprint of an A4-sized sheet of paper, consuming less power than a desktop PC. By utilizing the virtually unlimited chaining capability of the ZMS chips, a state-of-the- art ‘hypercomputer’ with many Petaflops of processing power can be realized, which can be 100 times smaller, 100 times greener and 100 times lower cost than conventional super computers.
High Energy Efficiency
Due to the compute density of each Processing Element, the ZMS-05 SoC is able to do an immense amount of media processing in far less time — and with far less energy — than taken by standard processors; which translates into longer battery life. Intelligent power control means the speed and power consumption of the processor can be matched to the task in hand and unused features can be turned off completely, put in deep stand-by and reactivated instantly after weeks of shut down, helping to lengthen battery life even further.
Complete Zii Platform Solutions
The ZMS-05 processor combines the media processing array, dual ARM cores and a rich set of integrated peripheral controllers with hardware platforms and advanced SDK and middleware. This will enable Software Developers, OEMs, ODMs and System Integrators to create unlimited possibilities and develop a broad range of highly innovative products.
ZiiLABS Launch Partners
With the excitement about the ZiiLABS platform now public and the ZMS-05 in production, the Company is pleased to be working with many OEM partners worldwide announcing products based on ZMS including: MicroStar International, Perception digital, F&S Electronic, MediaNet, ASTAK, PowerLinux and Grandeye.
For more information, please visit http://www.Zii.com
Are these the first screens of the ZEN Zii?
In just three days, CES 2009 will be upon us. Of all the things I'm looking forward to seeing, the Creative Zii is at the top of the list. Since the official release of the teaser last week, the buzz surrounding the Zii has been overwhelming. Being an editor at a Creative fansite, I am both excited and concerned over this new chip. I feel Creative may have turned up the "hype dial" a bit much and it'll be hard for them to live up to their claims.
From what I know, the Zii is some kind of silicon chip. Where the "stemcell" aspect comes in, I'm still not sure. Whatever it is, Creative believes it's a recession-proof solution, and they're hoping other businesses buy into it. Still, you have to wonder why Creative would debut the Zii at a Consumer electronics show, if their primary goal was to form new partnerships. I think it would make a lot of sense for Creative to show off consumer implementations of the Zii, and what better way to do that then putting it in their own MP3 players. That's the same strategy they took with their X-Fi sound chip. After patenting their X-Fi technology, Creative first put it in their sound cards, headphones, and DAP's. Now the chip is being used by other companies through OEM partnerships.
So with that said, let me get on to the actual topic of this article. A few days ago someone sent in these pictures to me:
They're supposedly the first screenshots of an upcoming ZEN Zii. The interface isn't too different from previous players in the ZEN series. The main menu is navigated horizontally, rather than vertically. The screens also appear to be from a widescreen display, rather than the typical 4:3 screens found on previous models. If these screens are to be believed, the player will also have built-in WiFi (like the ZEN X-Fi). That's about as much speculation as I can say right now. I have no idea whether these screens are authentic, or someone's lame idea of a joke. The lack of a "Photo" and "FM tuner" option on the main menu is one sign that these may not be real. So before you get all excited, take these screens with a grain of salt until we hear something more concrete. I think we'll inevitably see a ZEN Zii in our future, the big question is when.
Update: Okay so when I saw these screens I assumed they were for a possible ZEN Zii. Well the source that provided them has replied back and stated that they're for a Creative device, but not necessarily a Zen player. So now we can speculate even further as to what these screens are for. Netbook? Stereo? Navigation device? Your guess is as good as mine!
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