Sony Partners With Infineon to Produce Cheaper Chips

Sony Corp. has entered into a partnership with Infineon Technologies AG to design chips at reduced development costs at its consumer electronics division, the world’s second largest.

Sony and Infineon’s Qimonda AG will own equal shares in a Tokyo-based venture that will design DRAM chips that speed up data processing in cameras and mobile phones. DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips are also used in PlayStation 3 game consoles.

This announcement follows the Nikkei newspaper report Sony is considering various options and may sell some production lines, including those making the Cell processors that run the PlayStation 3 game consoles, to Toshiba Corp.

Hopefully reduced production costs for Sony will trickle down to consumers in the form of price cuts on the PS3.

via Bloomberg.com: Europe