Exclusive Interview With Andrew Audsley of ZiiLABS

A few weeks ago, I sent a few interview questions to Andrew Audsley of ZiiLABS. Not having heard anything from him in thirteen days, I assumed it was a case of overworked PR not having the resources nor desire to respond to a small niche website. Boy, was I wrong! The day that the Zii EGG and Plaszma were launched by the company, I received an email with a full response. Lucky for me, as all of the questions I posed were probably going to be non-answers until the official release date. Most interesting to me was the response to the number of companies working with the ZMS-05, and a suggestion that a ZMS-05 product is coming soon from one of ZiiLABS’ partners. Click through to read the interview!

Has the transition from 3DLabs to ZiiLabs been mostly cosmetic or have there been quite a few changes?
No, the formation of ZiiLABS as a group has seen a significant shift in how the company operates. In the past 3DLABS interacted with Creative like it would any other subsidiary. This new ZiiLABS group combines the skills and resources of the PDE group and 3DLABS to make ZiiLABS a world leading end to end solutions provider.

How has the relationship with Creative been thus far?

Great and it has resulted in some great collaboration and technological innovation.

How many companies are working with the ZMS-05?

A number of companies are working on products using the ZMS-05, unfortunately I cannot share any more details.
What have you guys been doing since the official announcement of the chip at CES?
We have been working on a number exciting software and hardware projects, public announcements will be made about these over the coming months. We have also focused on development of our Android implementation since our announcement at MWC with a targeted beta release this summer to key customers.
Will we ever see a Zii chip in a Creative audio player?
Creative haven’t made any announcements in that regard. However the just announced Zii EGG Development Edition shows the possibilities that are available for any of our customers.
The ZMS-05 supports touchscreen devices, correct? Is this a feasible application of the chip- a touchscreen digital audio player? Or is it a waste of potential?
The ZMS-05 Processor has 3 glueless bidirectional video processing ports. These can be attached to either lcds or sensors. The ZMS-05 supports a maximum resolution of 1920×1080. As 3DLABS I think we were one of the first companies to demonstrate a reference platform with touchscreen only input that supported HD video at CES 2007. Image attached. (This was an image of the former prototype of 3DLABS that people had thought was a upcoming Creative touchscreen DAP.) The ZMS-05 is the perfect solution for highend media focused products such as mobiles phone, PMPs, Internet devices, PNDs, TV companion devices such as a webbox, IPTV, advance webcams or security cameras. Although many of the products are converging and offering more and more features. The ZMS-05 has the potential to offer a true one stop device.
Do you think the future of Creative hinges upon the success of the Zii chip?
It is important that all business units contribute profit to the bottom line. This includes ZiiLABS.
What is the most important feature of the ZMS-05 that is overlooked by potential consumers?
I’m not sure anything has been overlooked per se, but it takes vision and imagination to realize all of the potential of the processor, its 3D capabilities and how its flexibility makes it simpler to use.
Will the ZMS-05 appear on a consumer electronics device this year? If so, which one?
No announcements by our customers have been made in this regard.

Thank you, Andrew. We look forward to great things from Creative and ZiiLABS down the line. The Zii EGG is a great step in the right direction.

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