Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

ARM Stealthily Rising As a Low-End Contender

Posted by timothy on from the raising-an-arm dept.

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Neil McAllister examines how the ongoing rise of netbooks, decline of desktops, and the smartphone explosion are reconfiguring the processor market, putting Intel's Atom processor on a clear collision course with ARM. And here, on the low end of computing, Intel may have finally met its match. Thanks to a unique licensing model, ARM will ship an estimated 90 chips per second this year, and the catalog of OSes and apps available for ARM has been growing for decades, including several complete Linux distributions such as Google's Android OS and Chrome OS when it ships. 'One thing ARM doesn't have, however, is Windows,' McAllister writes, something that could ultimately stymie ARM's plans to compete on the low end of the netbook market. And yet Intel's bet on Windows and its x86 compatibility appeal among developers could backfire, McAllister writes. In the end, it's all about performance. Thus far, Intel has yet to demonstrate a model with power characteristics comparable to those of the current generation of ARM chips, which are fast proving their ability to handle high-performance applications."

4 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. I Must be Getting Old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    "ARM"

    The first thing I thought of was "Adjustable Rate Mortgage.

  2. It's JVC's VHS-C versus Sony's Video8 again by commodore64_love · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    One thing ARM doesn't have, however, is Windows,' McAllister writes

    VHS-C was compatible with people's home machines, so you could use your camcorder to tape family or vacations, and then just pop it into your VHS VCR to watch it on the big screen TV. With Sony's Video8 that wasn't possible, so VHS-C quickly dominated the camcorder market.

    I expect the same thing to happen in netbooks - People have Windows on their PCs (both home and work). They'll want to have Windows on their netbooks too, so they can move their docs or applications back-and-forth easily. So Intel/Windows will eventually come to dominate.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  3. Re:So, where are ARM netbooks? by RichMan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "I have yet to see any." Then you are not looking. It seems last year there were many. It seems there are fewer this year but still.

    An example -

    Go to www.dell.com
    Select "for home"
    select "laptop/notebook"
    select "OS Ubuntu"

    Tada :

    http://www1.ca.dell.com/ca/en/home/Laptops/laptop-inspiron-10/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-10&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&~oid=ca~en~70702~inspnnb_10vu_en_feat_1~~

  4. Surprised Gucci size 14 man Shoes,BAPE T-Shirts ac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    http://www.tntshoes.com