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By Jeffrey Hodgson
TORONTO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY)
said on Thursday it was releasing the latest generation of its
mobile graphics chip, designed to sharply improve the visuals
of video games and other applications run on laptop computers.
Markham, Ontario-based ATI said the new chip, the Mobility
Radeon 9000, would begin shipping in September and had already
been selected by Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) for its new Compaq
Presario 2800T series of notebook computers.
ATI said the new mobile chip will support the newest and
most advanced video games, offer more realistic images, and
contain features to extend the battery life of laptops.
ATI last month launched the desktop versions of the Radeon
9000 aimed at mainstream graphics chip users. It was the latest
salvo in its battle with Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia
Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) to raise its share of the graphics chip market.
One industry analyst said the latest launch was the natural
follow-up to last month's new chip.
"ATI has long had a really strong leadership position in
mobile products and this announcement is essentially the
continuation," said Dean McCarron, president of Mercury
Research, which specializes in the computer components market.
"They have some new technology with the Radeon 9000. This
is them migrating that technology into their portable graphics
product line. It's obviously an important step in order to
maintain their position in the market."
On Aug 22, ATI announced a series of design wins by the
Radeon 9000 series, with Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and
Hewlett-Packard selecting the chips to power new computers.
ATI shares closed down 24 Canadian cents at C$9.76 in
Toronto on Wednesday. Since the start of the year, the stock
has fallen 51 percent, underperforming the Toronto Stock
Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index, which is down 14 percent.
($1=$1.56 Canadian)
Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service
