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The Highlander battle among chip manufacturers has started anew. This time it’s among the makers of chips that run smartphones. Besides initiating a new round of cutthroat competition, this battle suggests that computing is undergoing a substantive conceptual shift–from units that are all powerful to ones that are strategically powerful.
The objective is to make more powerful chips that consume less energy, and take up less space, with the intent of creating products that are smaller and less functional than their PC brethren, but are more in-tune to the particular needs of their users. The big players include the well known, such as Intel, ARM, Samsung, AMD, and Apple, and the lesser known, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Microelectroincs, and GlobalFoundaries. The money being spent in this competition totals in the tens of billions.
These chips are prevalent in smartphones, and they are working their way into netbooks, tablets and eReaders, where the current PC processor OS restriction doesn’t apply. This means that a whole new world of computing potential will be showcased as this little war plays itself out. It also means there will be some multi-billion dollar casualties along the way.
Suggested by this is the concept of computing shifting to address the particular, rather than the general, needs of users. If this market becomes economically attractive it might lead to a decrease in attention to the higher end, which in turn could mean slower development of the ‘hot’ technology that currently drives the market.
Image Credit: Apple Computer
An ARM-based netbook running Ubuntu could be in your future with the newest version of Ubuntu Netbook Edition. Much like Windows, the popular Linux distro did not previously have support for ARM processors. This meant you’d only see Ubuntu on Atom-based netbooks, a category dominated by Windows. With the anticipated flood of ARM packing “smartbooks” expected to materialize, the devs got to work rewriting Ubuntu.
According to Ubuntu’s Jamie Bennet, the problem was that Ubuntu Netbook Edition required 3D graphics drivers that didn’t exist for ARM chips. They got around this by employing 2D Enlightenment Foundation Libraries to fake a 3D interface. We’re hearing that you won’t be able to tell the difference in the interface. If true, that’s a big win for smartbooks and Ubuntu.
This may be the space that Ubuntu specifically, and Linux in general, can succeed in. Windows is completely locked out of the smartbook game until such time as Redmond gets around to adding ARM support. Don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Is an Ubuntu smartbook something you’d buy?
According to a report in the EETimes, NEC is gearing up to show off a high performance quad-core processor built around ARM’s Cortex-A9 design. The unveiling is expected to take place during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
If true, NEC would join a fraternity of companies claiming a quad-core chip based on ARM architecture. During CES, for example, Marvell Technology said it had developed the world’s first quad-core ARM chip, but did not provide any details. Marvell’s design is said to run faster than 1GHz, though it’s unclear if the chip is a custom design or built around ARM’s Cortex-A9.
It’s safe to say that NEC has been chomping at the bit to release a quad-core Cortex-A9 chip. The company first introduced a multi-core ARM processor back in 2005, which was made up of four ARM11 processors and considered a test chip based on the ARMv6 instruction set, EETimes reports.
ARM’s Cortex family will welcome three new additions in 2010, EETimes reports. Currently all we have are codenames to go on, but these will include ‘Eagle,’ which will be a high-performance Cortex A-class part, ‘Heron,,’ an embedded and real-time Cortex R-class chip, and ‘Merlin,’ a novel core for ARM’s Cortex-M series.
"Lead licensing is in place on all of them. We are within about 18 months of finishing the designs," said Warren East, chief executive officer of ARM.
East went on to say that the three new processors are being designed to offer different, rather than better performance.
"In all three cases, they will sit alongside the existing products for some time to come," East added.
Even so, the Eagle core will sit above the Cortex-A9 as ARM’s flagship processor in terms of performance. Expect to see Eagle in a variety of devices, including smartphones, mobile computing, digital televisions, and communications infrastructure applications.
Most netbooks and other ultra-mobile PCs currently run on Intel’s Atom x86 chips, but according to Analytics firm ABI, they shouldn’t get too used to being on top. In a new report, ABI is claiming that ARM-based chips will overtake Intel by 2013. ARM has been pushing for the opportunity to power non-smartphone devices for some time now. In October they introduced the Cortex A5 MP architecture, which they claim can efficiently power a netbook style device.
Intel is not currently sweating bullets, but they may be gearing up for a fight. Intel has established an Atom developer program to push the platform further. The chip maker has also unveiled plans to sell a version of the Atom intended for smartphones called the Moorestown. This is a direct challenge to ARM on their home turf.
The dominance of ARM is far from a sure thing, though. Rival analytics firm IDC has stated that ARM-based netbooks are unlikely to capture more than 10-20% of the market. They cited manufacturers’ tight relationships with Intel. Also, Windows does not currently support ARM chips. Since Windows is the dominant platform even on netbooks, the future for ARM netbooks is still hazy. If Linux netbooks took off, as Robert Castellano of The Information Network predicted last year, ARM would definitely have an in. Linux just needs to have its year. Hey, it could happen.
Talk about a potential turnaround. As it currently stands, some 90 percent of ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) shipped in 2009 sport a x86 processor inside, leaving little room for other architectures. But according to ABI Research, the introduction of ARM-based systems is set to shake things up, and in a big way. ABI says that by 2013, UMD shipments of netbooks, MIDs, smartbooks, and UMPCs based on the ARM architecture will jump ahead of x86-based devices.
"The important netbook segment of the UMD market is now moving into its second generation, and a growing number of netbooks based on ARM platforms are now appearing in the market, a trend no doubt helped by the perception that ARM-based systems are heavily oriented towards an ‘always connected’ mode of operation," ABI Research says. "Additionally, ARM-based products are coming out in a growing variety of different form-factors including tablets."
Jeff Orr, a senior analyst with ABI, describes the movement as "not a tidal wave, but a rising tide." He’s referring to the growing number of laptops and netbooks with embedded or attached modems, which have contributed to a "significantly greater amount of traffic to 3G networks than smartphones do," a further sign that ARM processors are taking over, he says.
Image Credit: ARM
Chip designer ARM has announced a new version of its popular Cortex microprocessor. The new chip, called the Cortex-A5, will have the performance if the fastest current generation ARM11 cores, as well as reduced power consumption. ARM will be making the chip available for licensing later this year.
ARM designs microprocessors, then licenses the designs to manufacturing. Most cell phones currently use ARM chips, but ARM isn’t content with owning just that market. They hope the new chip will find its way into other products, possibly in direct competition with Intel. The Cortex-A5 is fast enough to run a laptop or netbook, though Windows does not currently run on ARM chips.
Cortex-A5 chips are expected to run at clock speeds in the gigahertz range, and draw only 80 milliwatts of power. This should provide better performance and power efficiency than upcoming Intel chips. The first products with the new design should begin showing up sometime in 2011.
A newly announced partnership between ARM and GlobalFoundries could mean the next generation of mobile devices will be faster than anyone expected. The project will focus on the ARM Cortex-A9 chip. The current Cortex-A8 powers the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. The new chip will be based on a 28nm process.
According to GlobalFoundries, the 28nm parts will take advantage of the manufacturer’s High-K Metal Gate semiconductor. The HKMG technology is known as “Gate First”, meaning that it should allow high performance with minimal leakage.
ARM CEO, Warren East, said of the collaboration, “This announcement reflects our business value and strategy of providing best in class processor implementation by marrying our own processor and physical IP with world class manufacturing semiconductor technology.” So get ready, the next round of ARM chips could blow your socks off.
The rumors are true – AMD spin off Global Foundries and ARM are in talks about joining forces to build chips together. According to Kevin Smith, ARM’s vice president, his company plans to add manufacturing partners as it expands its business beyond mobile phones.
ARM also hopes to capture 15 percent of the mini-notebook market by the end of 2010, Smith added. The company is already working with Freescale Semiconductor, Sharp Corp., and Pegatron Technology, and adding Global Foundries to the mix would be a major boost.
It would also be a major win for Global Foundries, who is now reported to have over 150 customers, after starting off with just two (AMD and ST Microelectronics).
Is that 1GHz in your pocket or, well, you know the rest. The answer may soon be ‘both,’ as Samsung and Intrinsity jointly announced a 1GHz ARM processor that will likely find a home in the iPhone and other similar devices. Code named Hummingbird, the co-developed 1GHz chip is very similar to the 600MHz Samsung processor based on the ARM Cortex A8 design that currently powers the iPhone 3G, CNet reports.
"Samsung could drop Hummingbird into the existing S5PC100 design with few or no changes," said Tom R. Halfhill, senior analyst at the Microprocessor Report. "Bingo! A next-gen iPhone that could run at speeds up to 1GHz."
On the design side, getting to 1GHz meant using a 45nm manufacturing process, whereas most other ARM chips currently on the market are built around a 65nm manufacturing process. That represents somewhat of a change in design philosophy from ARM, who previously focused more on power efficiency than it did on high-performance.
Nevertheless, Samsung and Intrinsity say the new chip’s multi-Vdd / multi-frequency design methodology ensures Hummingbird can run at a high speed even at the minimum supply voltage of 1.0V.
Image Credit: Samsung via Slashgear.com
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