LAS VEGAS – Rockchip has its head in the clouds.
That is, the mobile Internet division of Chinese semiconductor
company Fozhou Rockchip Electronics has an eHome Cloud solution that lets
households share media across devices.
AWi-Fi-enabled box connects all the phones, tablets and computers
in a household to allow for easier syncing and sharing of media. That media can
then be consumed on the TV.
“The concept is to replace the PC. Nobody needs the PC,” said
Rockchip VP Chen Feng. The eHome box transmits what’s happening on any screen,
such as a smartphone or tablet, wirelessly to the TV screen. This is called
WiMo or Wireless Mobile, which was developed by China Mobile.
The current-generation box uses RK29XX chip RK2918, with a Cortex
A8 high-performance SoC. The box competes with smart, or connected, TVs that
connect to the Internet and download content from online sources.
The problem with the smart TV, Feng said, is that the firmware on
the TV is outmoded within a year. The eHome smart box costs about $60 and is
easily updated when a new generation becomes available.
“The TV is a consumer durable good,” said Feng. “The box is high
tech. The TV is just a monitor. It’s the right thing to have a detachable box.”
At CES Rockchip also showed tablets and smartphones using the
RK2918 chip running at 1GhZ speed and running Ice Cream Sandwich. Feng said the
next-generation chip – RK30, running a dual-core processor at 1.5GhZ – will be
out in about two months.
Rockchip is exhibiting in the South Hall in booth number 36835.
