S3 to be reborn as SonicBlue

Sounds like a porn channel

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 1st November 2000 11:50 GMT

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S3 has shed its last connection with its past by renaming itself SonicBlue.

Of course, a change of handle makes some sense, given the company has not only shed itself of the business that made S3's name, specifically it's graphics chip operation. And all of its remaining products ship under the Diamond or Rio brands.

But SonicBlue? Sounds more like a porn company, to us, but even if everyone else thinks differently, the new name certainly doesn't exactly conjure up an image of a hi-tech company at the forefront of Internet hardware technologies and digital media, which is what SonicBlue wants you to think it is.

It also runs the risk of getting confused with Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog, who is... er... blue. That's probably where they got the idea from...

Not that it will matter much: SonicBlue will continue to use its existing Diamond, Rio, FireGL and other brands. Which begs the question why bother changing at all? Indeed, it's telling that the company's statement announcing the change doesn't actually say why the modification was made.

With the sale of the 3D chip business to VIA, S3 has to all intents and purposes become Diamond Multimedia, which it bought last year. Why then not simply rename the company... er... Diamond Multimedia?

S3 will officially become SonicBlue on 15 November, when its Nasdaq ticker symbol will change to SBLU. ®

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