china/high-tech again

[michael perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't know how high tech this is, but it seems like it might portend
something stronger than Marty suggested.


TCL to Offer a TV-Like Computer

By *EVAN RAMSTAD*
*Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL*
January 11, 2006; Page B3

TCL Corp., a Chinese electronics company and the world's largest
manufacturer of television sets, is producing a personal computer
developed with *Intel* Corp.'s help that looks and acts more like a
flat-panel TV.

The company unveiled the product at the International Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, joining 40 other computer
manufacturers by quickly adopting crossover technology concepts from
Intel, maker of the main chip in most PCs. Intel used the trade show to
launch its "Viiv" brand (rhymes with "five"), which will be applied to
computers that are styled as home media centers.

TCL's PC resembles a 17-inch flat-panel TV with a carrying handle on
top. A metal base folds down from behind the screen, allowing it to
stand upright. Inside the base, a wireless keyboard can be slid out to
run the device as a computer. It also comes with a remote control and a
built-in camera and weighs about nine pounds.

Using the product name Versone, TCL plans to release the PC in China by
the middle of January and in Europe at the end of February. In the U.S.,
TCL says it will manufacture the product for other PC companies under
their brand names. The company said it will initially be priced at about
$2,000.

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini, who joined TCL Chairman Tomson Li
at the unveiling in Las Vegas, said the product's origins date back to
five years ago. That is when TCL was just entering China's PC industry.
In Mr. Otellini's first meeting with the company, TCL engineers talked
to him about merging the TV and PC.

Then, 18 months ago, Intel executives began promoting what would become
the Viiv concept to PC manufacturers. TCL jumped on the idea. The two
companies set up a joint development lab at TCL to work on the product.
TCL engineers handled problems related to connecting the device with
other audio and video products, such as DVD players and cable set-top
boxes, while Intel, of Santa Clara, Calif., handled computer-related
technical issues.

*Write to *Evan Ramstad at evan.ramstad@xxxxxxx
<mailto:evan.ramstad@xxxxxxx>^1

--

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901