Sony has become the third vendor to license Transmetas LongRun2 power-management technology.
Sony Corp. joins NEC Electronics Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., who licensed the technology last year. NEC is expected to introduce products incorporating the technology later this year, according to Transmeta officials. Fujitsu has yet to publicly lay out its roadmap.
Transmeta Corp.—which introduced its first energy-efficient processor, Crusoe, in 2001—is in the middle of an internal evaluation to determine its business model going forward. Officials said Friday that they will reorganize the company March 31.
Among the options are exiting the silicon business and instead make money by licensing the companys technology, including LongRun2. Officials said they also are exploring scenarios that would involve continuing to make processors via partnerships.
/zimages/3/28571.gifRead morehereabout how Transmeta may license LongRun2 and other intellectual property.
In the meantime, Transmeta, of Santa Clara, Calif., will continue to support customers who are using its Crusoe and Efficeon processors, President and CEO Matthew Perry said during a conference call Friday.
Analysts have said the licensing plan makes the most sense for Transmeta going forward. It has been unable to gain a strong foothold in the competitive chip space, particularly in the United States. But it has created some interesting technologies, including LongRun2, as well as its code-morphing software and embedded security offering. LongRun2 enables dynamic control of frequency, voltage and transistor leakage in the chip.
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