NEW-GEN PROCESSORS
Hyderabad, Nov. 4 A fundamental shift in processor design with system on chip (SoC) and multiple cores would make smart phones a lot smarter and powerful just as current day personal computers and notebook PCs are.
In fact, as these smart phones compress more features into them and turn intelligent and versatile, packing advanced capabilities, it is expected that their shipments would go up to 30 per cent of overall mobile phone sales from about 10 per cent now (100 million).
The Vice-President of Technical Marketing, ARM, Mr Keith Clarke, who now carries a smart phone and an IBM laptop - the latter to make some power point presentations, says that in a couple of years he may not have to carry the latter thanks to these new generation smart phones with operating systems and browsers that provide PC experience.
On a visit to Hyderabad, Mr Keith told Business Line with Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems and lately Linux getting popular, and browsers such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla complementing them, there is hardly anything that current PCs process that these smart devices do not handle.
“As a supplier of designs for original equipment manufacturers and semiconductor companies including Nokia, Apple, NXP, Infineon, TI, Samsung, we foresee a scenario where more people on the move would opt for these smart devices for ease of use and convenience,” he said.
The entire mobile phone ecosystem is in for a shift with new generation of processors that have the capability to do multi-tasks. Citing the examples of the company’s single core solutions for smart phones, consumer electronics and automotive entertainment and ARM Mali graphics processors, and its collaboration for Linux mobile computing, Mr Keith said mobile phone makers are taking to a platform approach which offers flexibility to add new features.
“As a business-to-business solutions provider and facilitator of designs for mobile phone companies, contrary to general perception that cheaper phones provide big market opportunity, we believe this may not be the right analysis. While affordability is important, users do want to do a lot more than what the basic phones could do ,” he said.
However, these capabilities bring a few design challenges including low power consumption. What ARM started to design in 2002, has begun to roll out now and smart phones with multiple cores would come out by 2009-2010.
Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/11/05/stories/2007110550450200.htm
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