|
|
home : articles :
Interview with Michael Hara : page 2
|
|
|
PCRave: Apples Steve Jobs has stated that NVIDIA GeForce3 will be available in their made to order iMac systems as well as the GeForce2 MX. The Macintosh market has traditionally been a niche market in terms of number of units sold when compared to PCs. The majority of graphics card sales are driven by gamers, hardware enthusiasts, and OEM design wins. With Apples closed architecture and weak gaming market, how will NVIDIA compete against an already well-established ATI in this space?
Mike Hara: The essence of the Macintosh is a rich, multimedia user experience. In fact, Apples and NVIDIAs visions are very much aligned. We are both dedicated and driven to deliver rich, multimedia experiences on computing platforms. We are working hard to develop products that exemplify the Apple vision. Apple is dedicated to deliver this at every price point, for every form factor. NVIDIA is the only company capable of doing this today for Apple. More importantly, the Macintosh market is demanding NVIDIA graphics. At both the San Francisco and Tokyo MacWorlds, Steves introduction of the GeForce2 MX and GeForce3 were met with standing ovations.
PCRave: NVIDIA has developed many new products such as the GeForce2 MX 200/400, the GeForce2 Go, the Quadro2 EX, the Quadro DCC, and the GeForce3. The strategy seems to be that NVIDIA is entering new markets at price points that may better appeal to the market. With so many new products introduced into the market, there seems to be a gradation between them as the products overlap in features and price. I find it increasingly harder to differentiate between them. What steps are NVIDIA taking to educate the buyer and the retail sector the benefits of each NVIDIA product and to also ensure that there is an apparent clear-cut solution that each product provides?
Mike Hara: First, we are establishing high-level brands that are targeted at specific markets and audiences. For example, our Quadro products are designed for the workstation professional. Second, we are establishing sub-level brands that distinguish technological features and performance. For example, the GeForce2 Go communicates the GeForce2 architecture for mobile products. MX is our midrange for desktops. Even though we have a large product portfolio, we really have two main franchises, the GeForce for consumers and Quadro for design professionals.
PCRave: NVIDIA is providing new unique solutions for digital content creators. For example, NVIDIAs Quadro DCC integrates well into Discreets 3DStudioMax by providing real-time shader effects. Print graphics such as real-time 2D filter acceleration could benefit content creators. What is the potential for this growing content creation market?
Mike Hara: The potential is there. Today, however, the pixel affects used in applications like Adobe Photoshop require much higher precision and samples than what our GPUs can process in real time today. The content creation market is strategically important to NVIDIA. We are diligently working with the software industry to define next generation rendering capabilities and ultimately take content to never-seen-before levels.
|
|
|
|
|