THE DEVICES we watch films on could get even smaller thanks to NEC, to the chagrin on film directing purists like David Lynch, who recently condemned the plonkers who’ll watch a film on an Iphone.
NEC is shipping new samples of small-footprint power chips for digital cameras, portable game machines and other gadgets where size and power consumption are crucial design factors.
The new low-breakdown-voltage MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) chips have the same low on-state operating resistance as existing products, but need only a third the board space when mounted.
So perhaps now, we’ll be watching moves on finger nail sized screens. What will Lynch will say about that!?
It’s a family sized portfolio of seven chips. To reduce the footprint of the chips, the company adopted a flat package instead of a gullwing configuration so the lead wires do not stick out and take up extra board space.
NEC plans to mass-produce all seven versions of the chip at a combined rate of five million units a month.
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I own some glasses that function as if you're watching a standard definition television set that's a few feet on on a side from about 10 feet away. So, I could be watching porn or an R-rated movie, and nobody would care.

Bring on the tech, I say. I can't think of any tech that's thought of as being at a dead end in terms of possible progress. We've got at least a decade to enjoy Moore's Law, and there's plenty of things that technology could do that hasn't happened yet.