The Sony -ibm- Toshiba Cell chip has nine miniature processing units.

FORBES: Cooler, Brainier

All three of the original partners had agreed that IBM would eventually sell the Cell to other clients.

WSJ: Playing the Fool

In India, a lack of Internet access and an abundance of cell phone helped IBM realize that the next billion people would probably get a chance to access the world wide web if they could do it via a cell phone.

FORBES: Indian Need Drives Global Innovation For IBM

But it does not seem to have occurred to Sony that IBM would sell key parts of the Cell before it was complete and to Sony's primary videogame-console competitor.

WSJ: Playing the Fool

The Japanese firm is pinning its hopes on the processing power and storage capacity of its new console, which will include a revolutionary processing unit based on the new Cell chip, developed with IBM and Toshiba.

ECONOMIST: The Xbox factor | The

In 2003, IBM's Adam Bennett showed Microsoft specs for the still-in-development Cell core.

WSJ: Playing the Fool

The goal, according to IBM, is to create solar cells that convert 15% of the energy that hits each cell from sunlight into useable electricity, up from a range of between 6% and 12% today.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Cut to a video of an IBM dude woodenly reading from a teleprompter (his eyes dart quickly left-to-right) about the cell processor system.

ENGADGET: & Joystiq's live coverage of Sony's PlayStation 3 launch