(Column) - Remember the sheer fanatical speeds we always talk about when we discuss the Cell processor? Well, how would you like to see it integrated right in your cell phone? If Sony is to be believed, that’s exactly what the electronics giant is hoping to accomplish in the future.

Back when Cell launched, IBM, Sony and Toshiba emphasized it to be very scalable with a capability of selecting as little as one PPE (out of eight) to scale the chip accordingly. If Sony is really able to miniaturize Cell, it would make life tremendously difficult for Intel with it’s fairly dated XScale processor. Cell would give mobile computing a whole new paradigm by packing in pure processing power that Intel lacks, at least when compared to Cell.

Ever used a Nokia 3230? The slowness of the interface is just mind-boggling. It makes you wonder if anyone at Nokia actually used the phone before sending it to the market. The reason behind the sluggishness is the lackluster power of mobile processors. Intel has showcased a 1.2GHz XScale, but it was a prototype, and if Cell materializes, it would be far more powerful than Intel’s offering.

The reasons for launching a mobile Cell are many, but for one, Sony might gain Nokia as one of its customers. Second, it could potentially open a plethora of options in regards to mobile gaming. It’s about time we get half decent games for our phones, and I, for one, would be delighted to play Ridge Racer on my way to work without having to carry the "heavy" PSP. The games from the PSP could easily be ported to a "Cell" phone. In contrast, we could reverse the process, and Sony could integrate Cell into the PSP, thereby making it’s performance unmatchable by any other portable gaming console.

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