'Netbooks can't be just cheap laptops’
ARM processors power almost 90% of the mobiles sold around the world, 70% of digital still cameras and about 70% of printers.
By Sujit John, TNN |
BANGALORE: ARM processors power almost 90% of the mobiles sold around the world, 70% of digital still cameras and about 70% of printers. Now, it hopes to challenge Intel Atom’s dominance of netbooks . Graham Budd, COO of the UK-based ARM, who was in Bangalore on Monday for the company’s Technology Symposium, talks about the advances in ARM-based netbooks.
Do you think netbooks will take a significant share of the PC market? In India, it hasn’t really taken off.
The current Atom-based netbooks are basically cheap laptops without all the features of a laptop. People who buy a netbook also think they are buying a cheap laptop. And then they get disappointed that it can’t do what a laptop does. Netbooks have to be built as a separate category, and the products have to be similarly differentiated. The ARM processor based ones that are being created will bring that differentiation. What is this differentiation? It will provide a rich internet experience, as good as X86 processor ones. The boot time will be faster, the battery life will be substantially higher, and the cost will be lower . ARM-based netbooks will also be smaller because we don’t have to put in a fan to cool the processor , as its energy consumption is very low. All this will help to create a category between a smartphone and a laptop. So, if somebody who is used to accessing the internet on a smartphone wants a fuller web experience, he could reach out to a netbook.
Why would costs be lower, and how much do you think the price would go down to?
I believe that before long the netbook price will go down to below Rs 10,000 ($200). The reason is partly our business model, where we license out our designs to multiple chipset developers. The competition amongst them brings costs down and raises the level of innovation. This is also the reason why you have seen such a lot of innovation in mobile phones.
When do you see ARM based netbooks becoming visible in the market?
You will see many models based on our Cortex A8 processor being launched in the first half of 2010. We have also now introduced the Cortex A9, which can help create more powerful netbooks. (The Atom chip this year is likely to claim 94% of the netbook market. But analysts like Robert Castellano of market research company The Information Network estimate that by 2012, ARM-based netbooks will overtake Intel-based ones. PC maker Asus’s head, however , said he didn’t see a market for an ARM based netbook that was launched recently).
What trends do you see in mobile phones?
The adoption of smartphones is rising exponentially, even as the growth of entry level and mid-range phones is slowing down. This is because of internet connectivity , 3G, and greater affordability of smart phones.
Do you think netbooks will take a significant share of the PC market? In India, it hasn’t really taken off.
The current Atom-based netbooks are basically cheap laptops without all the features of a laptop. People who buy a netbook also think they are buying a cheap laptop. And then they get disappointed that it can’t do what a laptop does. Netbooks have to be built as a separate category, and the products have to be similarly differentiated. The ARM processor based ones that are being created will bring that differentiation. What is this differentiation? It will provide a rich internet experience, as good as X86 processor ones. The boot time will be faster, the battery life will be substantially higher, and the cost will be lower . ARM-based netbooks will also be smaller because we don’t have to put in a fan to cool the processor , as its energy consumption is very low. All this will help to create a category between a smartphone and a laptop. So, if somebody who is used to accessing the internet on a smartphone wants a fuller web experience, he could reach out to a netbook.
Why would costs be lower, and how much do you think the price would go down to?
I believe that before long the netbook price will go down to below Rs 10,000 ($200). The reason is partly our business model, where we license out our designs to multiple chipset developers. The competition amongst them brings costs down and raises the level of innovation. This is also the reason why you have seen such a lot of innovation in mobile phones.
When do you see ARM based netbooks becoming visible in the market?
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You will see many models based on our Cortex A8 processor being launched in the first half of 2010. We have also now introduced the Cortex A9, which can help create more powerful netbooks. (The Atom chip this year is likely to claim 94% of the netbook market. But analysts like Robert Castellano of market research company The Information Network estimate that by 2012, ARM-based netbooks will overtake Intel-based ones. PC maker Asus’s head, however , said he didn’t see a market for an ARM based netbook that was launched recently).
What trends do you see in mobile phones?
The adoption of smartphones is rising exponentially, even as the growth of entry level and mid-range phones is slowing down. This is because of internet connectivity , 3G, and greater affordability of smart phones.
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