Meet Zii, Creative's miniature supercomputer

Damian Koh | Jan 09, 2009

ZiiLABS ZMS-05 SoC (System-On-Chip)
(Credit: Creative)

Mystery's over, kids.

The Zii is a System-On-Chip (SoC). In pedestrian terms, that means a new processor that comprises dual ARM cores, a host of peripheral controllers and middleware on a single chip. Creative has given a fancy name for this ecosystem called Stemcell Computing.

That's a big concept, but the Singapore-based outfit has posted a lengthy (about 10 minutes) and informative (including a healthy dose of marketing speak) video detailing the platform on the Zii site. I strongly recommend a pack of chips and a can of soda if you intend to sit through the whole presentation. But here's the gist in a more digestible point form layout.

Zii is pronounced as "zee".
ZiiLABS comprises 3D Labs which was bought over by Creative in 2002 and the Personal Digital Entertainment group of the company.
The technical name of this nano-sized supercomputer is ZiiLABS ZMS-05 SoC.
The ZMS uses an array of discrete processing elements (or building blocks in stem cells speak) that can adapt in real time to suit the needs of various applications.
It's akin to a pool of idling resources waiting to be tapped and the allocation of these resources depends on the amount of processing power required for performing tasks.
So what you get is a highly adaptive and flexible architecture.
Conventional processors, on the other hand, have fixed-function silicon blocks for various processing needs.
The processing elements can be shut down or put to deep sleep when not in use. This will help to save power or extend the battery life of the device.
Potential uses for the Zii are vast. It can be implemented in mobile phones, MP3 players, notebooks, etc.
Creative is working with a few OEM partners including MSI, Perception digital, FR&S Electronic, MediaNet, ASTAK, PowerLinux and Grandeye to develop products based on the ZMS.

The explanation video promises a lot, but even if you look beyond the marketing speak, it still seems like a very plausible way of effectively managing a limited amount of resources. There's a lot of potential here, though getting developers and manufacturers to hop onto the bandwagon is one thing, but rolling out actual products is another. I hope this doesn't turn out to be another passing fad.

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share