Staff IBM said Friday it would release a new family of chips for Net appliances.
Manufacturers can select precisely which features they want.
IBM says that with PowerPC IAP, it will assemble most of the chip in advance but that manufacturers can still add unique features for their specific product. That will encourage innovation by manufacturers, IBM claimed. Consumer electronics that attach to the Internet will come in all types of sizes and shapes, each demanding unique things of the chips that drive them. IBM said that the chipset is part of its strategy to be involved in all manner of ubiquitous computing. It said it is actively researching chipsets that support features such as speech recognition and encryption without consuming more power.