14 DAY TRIAL // ARM has been vying for a stake in the mobile personal computer market for years and it looks like it might finally get an ARM notebook out by August, provided the recent report about an NVIDIA-powered laptops proves true.
Intel and ARM have both been trying to find a good means of invading the other's IT territory, but it wasn't until the media tablet appeared that they had a good way of doing it, or trying to do it at least.
The slate is now acting as a sort of bridge between the mobile and PC markets and is one of the main forces driving ARM to make stronger chips and Intel to make more power-efficient ones.
Already famous GPU maker NVIDIA is one of the companies that managed to make a name for itself in this area over the past year, thanks to the Tegra platform.
Currently, the Tegra 2 is the one showing up on the majority of Android slates, but the quad-core Kal El should surface soon as well.
It is now reported that ARM might be the first of the aforementioned two rivals to seriously challenge the other on its own turf.
ASUS is supposedly designing a notebook powered by an NVIDIA processor, obviously an SoC (system-on-chip) from the Tegra line.
There really isn't any detailed information, save for the screen size of 13 inches, although one can hazard to guess that the aforementioned quad-core ARM platform could end up as the main building block.
Companies like Toshiba and Lenovo might make similar moves and, since they tried their hand at the smartbook market about two years ago, they should be able to build on that experience, even though said devices quickly proved to be a bust.
Other than these three companies, Samsung and Acer are also said to have all they need, as well as the intention, to bring forth ARM notebooks before the ongoing year (2011) is out. Whenever the first devices come out, they are sure to at least turn some heads thanks to the prices of under $299.