UK based specialist notebook PC manufacturer, Rock, has sold a controlling interest to Rok Entertainment, the mobile video specialist.
Rock claims to be one of the first vendors to ship a device that features Nvidia's 8800M GTX graphics processor in the shape of its Xtreme
770.
Rok is claiming its sudden interest in gaming-centric notebooks is down to 'convergence'.
"Full-scale convergence of the notebook and mobile technologies - and how we use them both - has already begun," commented Laurence Alexander, Rok's CEO.
Another clue as to the motivation behind such a move is the company's claim that "this acquisition forms part of Rok’s strategy to expand in all mobile communications markets.
It will provide a further platform for the delivery of user-generated content, which constitutes a key strength of [Rok's] product offering."
Mobile Software Insight readers will recall that Rok recently floated in the USA for around $1 billion, so it obviously has funds in its war chest for such acquisitions.
Over at Rock, CEO, Nick Boardman, insisted that Rock’s customer base consists "largely of early adopters which makes them the ideal target for Rok’s products and services. We will work extremely closely to bring some exciting technology to the market," he said.
What might that technology be? Well, it will definitely have something to do with adding the mobile internet and mobile entertainment into notebooks.
To support this theory, Rok quotes some very dodgy market research conducted by Intel – announced at the Intel Capital CEO Summit back in May 2007 - that found that every owner of a mobile phone will eventually own a notebook. That sounds a tad far-fetched, even for Intel.
Anyway, the other good news is that – given Rok's US connexions – there is a long term plan to distribute Rock notebooks in the USA by Q1 2010.
