CES 2008

(Credit: Phil Hester)

CES is an overwhelming collection of screens, beckoning to thousands of attendees as the bright portals to our entertainment, information, and one another anywhere in the world. Whether designed for the home, office, car, or on the go, those screens range in size, quality, resolution, and function.

In previous CES years, the focus of most display makers was size. It seemed that each year we saw progressively larger screens, far beyond a size reasonable for the average consumer. Display makers jockeyed for size-based bragging rights. This year, the focus evolved to screen quality, whether it's 1080p, reduced motion blur, improved contrast range (some up to 1,000,000:1), or a broader color palette. As HD technology becomes more pervasive and personal, image quality is vividly increasing as prices come down.

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to see if you're looking for a huge TV. Case in point, Sharp showcased a 108 inch TV "wall" with incredibly crisp resolution and vivid color, while Panasonic unveiled a 150 inch TV with outrageously high resolution. While most consumers won't buy a TV that large, the technology will help to evolve the existing products so that resolution and display quality continue to increase, while weight, screen thickness, and price decrease.

(Credit: Phil Hester)

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the small screens of personal technology devices like the iPod or Zune. These devices are creating a huge market for accessories and components that work in tandem with those devices. For example, wearable technologies are available that allow users to view the small screen content on a "larger" display (check out the photo of the "sunglasses" that mimic a 52-inch viewing experience). The essential point here is that these technologies are also dropping in price (the pictured glasses cost around $200), which will make the technology attainable for mainstream audiences.

And screens are no longer just for viewing. More and more, we're using touch-screen technology to make devices more functional and intuitive. Touch-screen remotes, navigation systems, and cell phones are making technology easier to use for average consumers.

The focus on image quality and energy efficiency (more on that later), and new innovations such as Sony OLED should drive down average price points and make rich, crisp displays available to more and more people.

Phil Hester is senior vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) at AMD, responsible for setting the architectural and product strategies and plans for AMD's microprocessor business.

Laptop graphics: the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600.

(Credit: AMD)

While AMD has been quiet on the CPU front at this year's show (unless you count the introduction of a logo as news), its graphics division has something of substance with the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series. This new laptop graphics lineup comprises two models, the HD 3400 and the HD 3600, and is optimized for AMD's next-generation mobile platform (codename Puma) due out next quarter. The new GPUs support DirectX 10.1 and PCI Express 2.0, and can display Blu-ray and HD DVD movies at full 1080p resolution. They also come equipped with ATI's Avivo HD technology, which lightens the CPU's load during intensive video decoding tasks. The Radeon HD 3000 series will also be the cause for the arrival of DisplayPort video connections on laptops.

Asus is mentioned as the only launch partner; other laptops vendors are expected to add the Radeon HD 3000 series later in the first half of 2008.

(Credit: Intel)

Here's what we find most interesting about Intel's new additions to its Core 2 Quad line later this quarter. Of the three new quad-core desktop chips it announced this morning, only the 2.5GHz Core 2 Quad Q9300 has a low enough price at $266 to compete with AMD's Phenom 9500 ($251) and 9600 ($283). True, Intel's previous generation Q6600 ($266) will likely drop in price, and it's faster than either current Phenom, but it wasn't quite the crushing blow to AMD's 2008 hopes we thought we might see.

Intel has dominated AMD at the high-end for a while now, and even after AMD squares away its higher-end Phenom issues, it's likely that Intel will hold its performance lead. That leaves AMD to rely on price drops to stay competitive. And while quad-core CPUs are still by no means mainstream, they're getting there, simply because of pricing. You've been able to buy a quad-core desktop for less than $1,000 for almost six months.

Despite the pricing listed above, if you look online, you'll find a Phenom 9500 for around $200 in real world pricing. We have to believe the desktop vendors are getting deals as well, which makes it easy for Gateway, HP, and others to look to AMD to bring quad-core PCs into Best Buy. If Intel's pricing doesn't get more competitive, consumers might come to think of AMD as the quad-core leader, simply because its chips are in the most affordable quad core systems, the ones that non-enthusiasts might actually buy. And it's not like Phenom is a bad CPU, it's just not as fast as Core 2 Quad. But if you can get a Phenom for significantly less, it starts to look more appealing.

Of course we like this kind of competition. It puts powerful technology into more hands because of lower prices. But it seemed like with the expansion of its Core 2 Quad 9000-series, Intel had a chance to really dominate the quad core market. But as long as AMD can avoid dropping prices too low (thus completely killing its profits), it could hold onto its bang-for-the-buck prize a bit longer.

CES is not exactly a chip-maker's show, since chips look sort of lame next to flashy cell phones and 100-inch plasma televisions.

Still, Intel and AMD both plan to descend on the desert this week and each company is making some news. Intel has more than a dozen new chips to announce, and AMD has a new logo.

First off, Intel plans to unveil 16 chips on Monday, the same day CEO Paul Otellini delivers an afternoon keynote address at The Venetian Hotel. The five Penryn-class Core 2 Duo notebook processors are probably the highlight, the first of Intel's notebook chips to use the company's 45-nanometer manufacturing technology.

The notebook chips are available immediately, setting the stage for next week's Macworld, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to unveil one or more Macbooks based on Intel's chips. The rest of the new processors are for servers and desktops; the server chips are available immediately, while desktop chips will follow later. Intel is closing in on shipment totals of 1 million 45-nanometer chips after launching its first such processors last November.

Otellini is expected to focus more on Intel's low-power and Mobile Internet Device initiatives, which represent some of the company's most ambitious goals for the rest of the decade. Intel has spent a lot of time talking about its desire to get inside of future mobile computers, and it will probably highlight upcoming MIDs based on its Silverthorne processor during the keynote.

AMD has much less to say, given that right now, its priorities center on fixing its Barcelona and Phenom processors and getting those ready for prime time. Still, the company plans to discuss its upcoming Puma notebook platform during the show.

Turion Ultra is going to be the processor brand delivered with the Puma platform, which will also incorporate ATI Mobility Radeon graphics chipsets from AMD's graphics division, said Bahr Mahony, director of mobile business for AMD.

One interesting feature on certain Turion Ultra notebooks will be the ability to turn the discrete graphics on or off, depending on the need for graphics performance or battery life. Some of the platforms will include the Mobilty Radeon HD 3400 graphics chipset, which can toggle between the two modes.