Mitsubishi and Diba have announced they are teaming up to develop a new technology platform known as an information appliance (IA). The plan is to integrate Diba's software technology with Mitsubishi's processor systems to create a new computing platform.

According to officials with Mitsubishi Europe, these so-called IAs will range from smart phones with Internet and Web facilities, through to Internet-enabled TVs. The aim is to cut the cost of the Internet access side of the appliance by as much as 50 percent.

Both companies are planning to offer an Internet access daughterboard and, eventually, a chipset, that can sold at very low prices to producers of TVs and telephones. Although these IAs won't have the processing power of PCs or even "Net PCs," they will be "extremely cheap," officials claims.

Each IA, Mitsubishi claims, will have a customized user interface, with hardware optimized for the demands of the application and a unique software application.

"The partnership between Diba and Mitsubishi has established the IA as a reality in Europe, and brings us one step closer to our goal of having IAs in every home," said Nigel Seed, vice president of European operations for Diba.

According to Mitsubishi, the IA chipset is a real product as of this week, and consists of a highly integrated two chip system based on the company's M32R/D embedded DRAM processor core, tied in with Diba's software, which has been specifically designed for IAs.

Source: Newsbytes