Japanese Firms In CPU Alliance To Unseat Intel

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Japan's big electronics and chip manufacturers will pool their resources to create an industrywide standard of new, power-saving central processing units (CPU) for use in a wide range of consumer electronics, a development that could lead to easier software programming across various devices, The Nikkei learned Thursday.

The team -- which includes Fujitsu Ltd. (6702), Toshiba Corp. (6502), Panasonic Corp. (6752), Renesas Technology Corp., NEC Corp. (6701), Hitachi Ltd. (6501) and Canon Inc. (7751) -- aims to make its format an industry standard by the end of fiscal 2012, a move that could give these firms a bigger share of the segment currently dominated by Intel Corp. of the U.S.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will provide 3-4 billion yen in financial support.

In the early stages of the endeavor, each company will make their own CPU that is compatible with an innovative energy-saving software developed by Hironori Kasahara, professor of computer science at Waseda University.

As they develop their CPUs, the firms will build on the work of a group -- made up of engineers from Waseda, Hitachi and other bodies -- which has created a prototype that runs on solar cells. By moderating electricity usage according to the amount of data being processed, the prototype is able to operate using less than 30% the power consumed at normal times.

The CPU is designed to work even when a power outlet is not available, such as when away from the office or in the event of a natural disaster.

Once the partners establish a CPU as their standard, they will incorporate it into their televisions, digital cameras, and other products. They will also consider selling the chip to other companies for use in automobiles, servers and robots.

If different electronics products share the same CPU and thus the same software format, this could reduce the need for firms to funnel as many resources toward software development.

(The Nikkei Sept. 3 evening edition)