HTC buys VIA's S3 graphics unit for $300 million
Usually, when you see that brilliant typeface underneath an HTC logo, you're assuming that it has to do with a new device from the "quiet" company. But after today, you might be looking at a news story about what's inside that smartphone instead.
Today, HTC agreed to pay $300 million to VIA, a chip manufacturer, for its S3 graphics division. NVIDIA and AMD are the big names in desktop graphics, of course, but S3 has a lot of experience in low-power graphics solutions that are capable of 3D graphics and high-definition video playback. We've complained about battery life in the past, so this is actually pretty huge for HTC.
Besides the extra battery savings, it would also be a huge performance boost for the company's line. Think the Eternity is great now (even before it's been released)? Its younger sibling should be that much more incredible if HTC plays its cards right with this acquisition.
[Liliputing]
