Press Release
- 2002
ATI unleashes Mobility™ Radeon® 9000
World's first mobile graphics solution with programmable pixel shaders
delivers stunning 3D performance and impeccable photo-realism
Thursday, August 29, 2002
LONDON, England - Hailed by industry experts as the most
significant advancement in mobile graphics technology since
ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX:ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT) brought 3D graphics
acceleration to notebooks in 1999, the Mobility Radeon
9000 visual processor was announced today at a worldwide launch
event that brought together media, game developers, independent
software vendors (ISVs), and computer manufacturers from North
America, Europe and Asia.
Notebooks featuring the Mobility Radeon 9000 will ship almost
immediately, beginning in September.
The Mobility Radeon 9000 visual processor dramatically outperforms
the fastest competing chip, and is the first mobile graphics
processor equipped with fully programmable pixel and vertex
shading technology, which is required for true-to-life photo-realistic
special effects.
- The impressive list of new features found in the Mobility
Radeon 9000 includes:
- Hardware support for version 1.4 programmable pixel
and vertex shaders: ATI's SmartShader technology takes
full advantage of the advanced new features in Microsoft®
DirectX® 8.1 and means even the newest and most advanced
3D games will be fully supported;
- The world's first mobile quad-pipe 3D architecture:
Four parallel rendering pipelines to power the most challenging
games and 3D business multimedia applications with amazing
speed;
- PowerPlay 3.0, a significantly enhanced version
of ATI's industry-leading power management technology which
extends battery life in 3D applications and DVD playback,
enabling, for example, full playback of feature-length movies.
Enhancements include a new user interface and more user control
over power management features, and improved power-to-performance
ratios;
- Industry-leading Internet video streaming: New FullStream
technology leverages pixel shaders to accelerate video, remove
blocky artifacts and improve the quality and scalability of
streaming video;
- Flexible multiple display architecture supported
by Hydravision ATI's desktop management software enabling
productive and effective use of multiple displays and presentation
software.
- A host of other features including ATI ZOOM (to quickly
and easily toggle between screen resolutions), an improved
ratiometric expansion filter which provides clearer, crisper
text and 2D graphics, and frame modulation, which makes 18-bit
LCD panels look like high quality 24-bit panels.
"The Mobility Radeon 9000 is an unprecedented leap
forward in mobile graphics performance, and delivers a variety
of industry-first 3D, video and power-management technologies
that dramatically raise the bar for notebook graphics as a
gaming platform, mobile workstation platform, and for accelerating
business multimedia software," said Phil Eisler, Vice
President and General Manager, Mobile and Integrated Business
Unit, ATI Technologies Inc. "With the launch of the Mobility
Radeon 9000, ATI has clearly achieved graphics performance
leadership in both the desktop and mobile spaces, and has
delivered world-class visual processors to the market."
With the introduction of the Mobility Radeon 9000, ATI is
continuing its commitment to rapidly introducing revolutionary
new architectures and moving high-end technologies into the
mobile market at a fast pace.
"Consumer mobile is a fast-growing segment, and must
deliver graphics performance on par with a desktop system
to be compelling," said Martin Reynolds, GVP and Research
Fellow, Gartner Dataquest. "New-generation graphics controllers,
in conjunction with the advanced rendering features of DirectX
8.1, are paving the way for games that will establish the
PC as the best personal gaming platform for 2003; their mobile
siblings will, for the first time, bring that same recognition
to mobile computers."
Mobility Radeon 9000 extends ATI's leadership in integrating
key mobile features and components directly into the graphics
processor, which saves ATI's OEM customers vital motherboard
space, and reduces power consumption and cost, contributing
to thinner and lighter designs with the highest available
performance. Mobility Radeon 9000 also helps notebook manufacturers
bring product to market faster at lower production costs by
utilizing ATI's exclusive FlexFit architecture, which leverages
pin and driver compatibility across ATI's mobile product line.
Copyright 2002 ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks
and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All
other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing,
availability and specifications are subject to change without
notice.
About ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. is a world leader in the design and
manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon
solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI delivers leading-edge
performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop
and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top box, game console
and handheld markets. With 2001 revenues in excess of US $1
billion, ATI has more than 1,900 employees in the Americas,
Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT)
and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).
Contact Information
For media or industry analyst support, visit our Web site
at http://www.ati.com .
Other ATI Contacts:
Derek Baker, Counsellor, BenchMark Porter Novelli,
at (416) 422-7158 or dbaker@bmporternovelli.com
Pedro Cabezuelo, Senior Counsellor, BenchMark Porter Novelli,
at (416) 422-7164 or pcabezuelo@bmporternovelli.com
For Information:
Chris Hook, Public Relations Manager, Mobile and Integrated
Business Unit, at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 8477 or chook@ati.com
For investor relations support, please contact:
Janet Craig, Director, Investor Relations, ATI Technologies
Inc., at (905) 882-2600, Ext. 2631 or jcraig@ati.com