More MIDs with ARM than Atom by 2013
Intel's netbook lead will quickly vanish, says analyst
Looking forward to the day when ARM chips appear in more handheld internet devices than Intel and other x86 processors do? You may not have too long to wait - though don't expect an overnight switch.
Market watcher ABI Research today said ARM will overtake Intel as the platform of choice for netbooks, MIDs, tablets and UMPCs during 2012.
By the end of that year, Intel's share of the market will have fallen from more than 90 per cent in 2009 to around 48 per cent.
A year on, and its share will have dropped to 40 per cent, ABI predicted.
“2010 will be pivotal for building momentum behind non-x86 solutions, and gaining adoption in both distribution channels and by end-user populations worldwide," said ABI senior analyst Jeff Orr.
But it's not just Intel that needs to watch out - mobile phone networks must too. The growing internet gadget market - whether based on ARM or x86 chippery - will have integrated 3G for phone-like always-on data connectivity.
That, said Orr, will put far more of a strain on carriers' networks than smartphones do today - even ones with iPhones on them. ®
COMMENTS
ARMed and ready
Sod Linux. I want an ARM netbook with RISC OS on it.
I've got an old copy of Impression I want to use on it somewhere...
Rubbing hands...
...a decent Linux distro running on a decent ARM platform. I may just have a nerdgasm.
First find a manufacturer ...
who dares to annoy both, MS and Intel, then you might find an ARM based Tablet, At least the media want one badly and thus hype the only bigger computer maker who doesn't preinstall Windows on his devices and has some experience with non Intel CPUs :)
...where are the ARM laptops (netbooks, whatever)?
I hear about them, i want to buy and use one. Where are they??
If 2010 is going to be a pivotal year then they need to start releasing these ARM netbook puppies into the wild.
patience!
I'm guessing that 2011 will be the break-out year for ARM mids-- NVIDIA's Tegra 2 sounds damn sweet, and it's just coming out (1.5 GHz ARM9 SMP + hi-res graphics). I'm guessing that it'll be another year before we start seeing products using Tegra, and maybe another year before it starts moving into more netbookie things. On another front, Apple did snap up PA-semi a few years back, it's possible that they are developing something crazy as well. Add in increases in SSD density and reduction in cost, and you have the potential for some very fast, very low power little devices.
The interesting thing will be seeing how Microsoft responds: if Linux/ARM netbooks start gobbling up the market, they're going to need to port Windows 7 over; I don't think Win CE / Win mobile will really cut it. So, if we imagine 2011 for first ARM/Linux netbooks, and Microsoft gets worried, it seems like they might be able to port Windows 7 in two years, which would put us at 2013, as per the article. Maybe a tad aggressive, but not unreasonable.
