Originally Posted by
Anandtech.com
The last time we discussed PortalPlayer, the company took a huge nose dive after Apple announced that it had decided not to use the company's chips in its next generation iPod Nano music players. The contract instead went to Samsung.
Now, NVIDIA has seen fit to gobble up PortalPlayer and add the company to its widening empire. With this purchase, NVIDIA hopes to become a dominant player in the area of mobile processing/audio/graphics. Said NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang:
Modern mobile devices are miniaturized yet powerful multimedia computers. At the core of their architectures are complex Application Processors integrating microprocessors, system logic, networking, and multimedia processors. With this acquisition, we are combining the two essential technologies of next-generation PMPs, PDAs, portable game players, and phones: PortalPlayer's innovative Application Processor technology and NVIDIA's industry-leading GPU technology. With the products created through this combination, we intend to drive the next digital revolution, where the mobile device becomes our most personal computer.
PortalPlayer was founded in 1999 and first made a name for itself in 2001 when it first began supplying chip to Apple for its iPods.
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