VIA Technologies, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 platforms, announced a partnership with Microsoft and more than 15 important Chinese PC manufacturing and infrastructure companies, called 'Global Mobility Bazaar' (GMB), aimed at delivering affordable mobile computing devices for global markets.

The GMB program enables VIA to develop and deploy a wide range of mini-notes, netbooks, and notebooks based on the company's ultra low power processor platforms. The systems will feature the Microsoft Windows XP operating system and will offer an optimized mobile computing and Internet experience on a range of form factors and a variety of screen sizes ranging from 7- to 15-inch.

“As the fastest-growing segment of the PC market, mobile computing offers significant opportunities for the members of our new Global Mobility Bazaar program,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to be partnering with them to develop a broad spectrum of devices that will meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of mobile users in both developed and emerging markets.”

“We welcome VIA's initiative in developing a whole new ecosystem for driving ultra mobility further into global markets,” commented Jack Lee, Vice President, OEM Greater China Region of Microsoft. “We see that the Global Mobility Bazaar will enable partners to provide a rich mobile computing experience built around the familiar Windows XP interface to a new generation of users around the world.”

The VIA Global Mobility Bazaar was launched at an event co-hosted by Microsoft in Shenzhen, China, today. The GMB is a part of the manufacturer's long-term commitment to drive innovation in mobile computing devices by means of sharing its leading-edge technology in power efficient x86 processor platforms. Besides over 15 important Chinese manufacturers, attending the event were infrastructure partners SanDisk, American Megatrends (AMI), and ITE Tech.

The VIA GMB program is aiming at delivering innovative computing devices to fast-emerging markets around the world, as well as to China. The targeted markets see a very fast growth, which creates immense demand for mobile computing.