14 DAY TRIAL // As it was to be expected, this year's Consumer Electronics Show will focus on some of the latest technologies on the market, while also giving us an idea of the things to come. With portability becoming an increasingly important factor in the computer industry, reports of new technologies from this segment continue to flood the Internet. On that note, processor maker, ARM has just posted a video demonstration of a Cortex A9 development board in comparison with a 1.6GHz Atom netbook.
The Cortex A9 represents an evolution from the Cortex A8 design, which is at the core of a number of highly popular devices, including Apple's iPhone, but also the most recent Google Nexus One phone. This next-generation chip comes with support for multi-core designs, consequently enabling a better performance and providing customers with choices for new devices.
One of the key features of ARM's chip designs is that they provide performance at considerable low power requirements. The side-by-side performance video comparison that the company has posted on its YouTube channel, shows a Cortex A9 development board compared to a 1.6GHz Atom-powered netbook, as far as the browsing performance is concerned. As you can see in the video, the two designs are comparable, in terms of performance, but there are a couple of elements that need to be pointed out.
First of all, the ARM processor is known for its low power requirements, being used in mobile phones for years now. However, another strong point is that, the ARM processor used in the video was clocked at 500MHz, compared to the 1.6GHz speed at which the Atom CPU was running.
Considering its performance potential, these processors could end up in some of the upcoming ultraportable devices, such as tablets or low-power notebooks. There are some reports that indicate Apple will use the Cortex A9 for its much-anticipated iSlate, the company's rumored take at the tablet market.