Qualcomm Wants to Enter the Notebook and PC Markets

With ARM-based processors becoming more powerful with every new generation, the idea of using such devices for powering next-generation ultra-thin notebooks and entry-level PC seems extremely plausible, and Qualcomm wants to be one of the first ARM licensees to get into this market.

This information was made public by no other than the company's Senior Vice President and President at QCT Europe, Enrico Salvatori.

In a recent interview with the Fudzilla publication, Salvatori said that the company's goals include optimizing its platforms for smartphones and tablets and later going after the notebook and PC market.

From a hardware point of view, Qualcomm believes that the company is ready for the transition, and now it's up to operating systems and vendors to do their part.

The key aspect to this migration towards these markets is of course Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system that will add support for ARM processors.

Qualcomm wants to pair Windows 8 with its upcoming Snapdragon S4 system-on-a-chip (SoC) devices that can include up to four processing cores based on the Krait architecture with a maximum clock speed of 2.5GHz, and support for either 800MHz dual channel LPDDR3 memory, or dual channel 1333MHz PCDDR4 memory.

The quad ARM cores will be paired together with a fast Adreno graphics core from the 400 series, the Adreno 420 to be more exact, with support for 3D video at 60fps in 1080p.

Qualcomm is not the only ARM licensee interested in getting its chips used in notebook and PC computers, as Nvidia is also having a similar goal for its Kal-El+ SoC devices.

Right now, it's difficult to day how will Kal-El+ fare against the Snapdragon S4, as the specifications of the former are unknown, but the two should be pretty competitive against each other.

Furthermore, other ARM processor builders are also expected to join the party, so this could turn up to be one really interesting fight.