Intel, look out, competition is on the way

Nov 13, 2008 10:10 GMT  ·  By

Intel's Atom processor is about to get a run for its money, not only from AMD, as we have reported earlier today, but also from a chip maker that has a long history in designing processors that deliver a small power consumption, and are specifically built to be featured in smartphones and personal media players, such as the Archos 5. ARM has just announced that it plans to go for a full range of netbook systems, for which purpose the company has teamed up with Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu. The collaboration between the two companies is set to enable the Ubuntu Linux distro to provide support for the ARMv7 processor architecture.

 

"The release of a full Ubuntu desktop distribution supporting latest ARM technology will enable rapid growth, with Internet everywhere, connected ultra portable devices," said Ian Drew, vice president of Marketing, ARM. "The always-on experience available with mobile devices is rapidly expanding to new device categories such as netbooks, laptops and other Internet connected products. Working with Canonical will pave the way for the development of new features and innovations to all connected platforms."

 

The chip maker believes that its debut in the world of netbook computer systems is a natural evolution of the company’s position in the mobile device market, especially since the ARM processors' architecture is highly efficient and optimized for Web browsing, while also capable of handling high-quality video. According to Kerry McGuire, director of strategic software alliances for ARM, the company's platform can deliver a high performance level, while also providing an all-day battery life and advanced video functionality. Apparently, the company is confident that the ARM processor can seriously compete with Intel's Atom, as it comes with the ability of handling high-performance video, a feature that Kerry McGuire has insisted on.

 

ARM is interested in providing netbooks of all sizes, including 8.9-inch and 10-inch systems, but users won't be able to see either of the two until sometime next year, as the Ubuntu ARM distribution isn't expected to become available until April 2009. ARM isn't going just for the Linux-based netbooks, and will be looking to deliver netbooks to run on Microsoft's operating systems as well.

 

What is interesting about the announcement is the prospect that, by this time next year, we’ll have really strong competition on this fast growing market. Intel, AMD, VIA and ARM are to compete in offering consumers the most efficient, Internet-capable and low-cost portable computer systems on the market.