The electronics colossus and Toshiba are already starting work on a sequel to the Cell chip.
According to multiple media outlets (including Reuters), Sony and Toshiba are begininning development on a new microprocessor that will be smaller and more powerful than their Cell chip. No project code name has been announced for this new chip, which is expected to be completed by late 2005. The new chip will be designed with a 45-nanometer circuitry, an architecture that is much narrower than chips used in the current market. Narrower circuitry allows more transistors on a chip, and also allows for a higher maximum clock speed. It can also reduce the size of the chips, allowing the manufacturer to efficiently produce more chips out of a single wafer.
In the current market, 90-nanometer circuitry chips are considered state-of-the-art. PSX, Sony"s latest console product released last year, utilized a CPU with 90-nanometer circuitry. But even the PSX came under debate from researchers who questioned if its chip was completely developed under the architecture. Starting from this month, Intel is also releasing "Prescott" Pentium 4 chips for the PC that run with 90 nanometer circuitry.