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Recently Junko Yoshida reported MIPS intentions to breakinto the handset market where ARM has an estimated 2.5 cores per cellphone. MIPS has a bigger stretch ahead than ARM in set-tops, methinks.
Yesterday, I received an email about Freescale making Android available on some of its PowerPC based processors. With the exception of its design wins in videogame consoles, I think of PowerPC as a communications systems core, not a consumer or mobile processor. In fact, Apple dropped the PowerPC in part because it failed to meet its notebook needs.
Speaking of notebooks, we all know a half dozen ARM-processor makers are trying to break into netbooks in a big way. Dell already used an ARM core in a notebook, albeit for a peripheral application that probably represents an experiment with the architecture as much as anything else.
It's only fair to have ARM in notebooks since Intel is trying to drive its x86-based Atom into cellphones, something that won't happen in a big way until the Medfield 32nm version emerges late next year. So what's next, a supercomputer built from an array of NXP 8051s?
We are watching the reality TV show "Core Survivor" to see who will be among the handful of architectures still alive and kicking, and no holds are barred. Stay tuned.
Posted by Rick Merritt on Oct 28, 2009 03:20 PM in Computing
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