Tech Competition - ARM vs. Atom

“Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress,” Herbert Hoover.

Being in the tech industry has introduced me to tons of literature about competition. It’s invigorating to read and understand all the competition involved within the industry. After reading all the predictions and hearing/reading of all things tech I think I'm ready to make my first and foremost tech prediction (even so, keep in mind I'm new to the industry and am still a sponge and learning)

I wanted to discuss the Arm vs. Atom debate that has spurred. Granted, I’m a little late to join the conversation but better late than never, right?

Prophecy has it that ARM’s Cortex-A9 netbook with a Linux-based operating system could potentially sell at a price point that no Intel and Windows netwbook could match. Okay, not prophecy, rather Dr. Robert Castellano, an analyst with The Information Network is certain that the Cortex-A9 multicore processor is a serious challenger to the Atom.

Now, for all of you non-techies out there, you’ve all heard of Intel! Of course you have. If my five-year-old nephew sits on the piano and tries to match the Intel jingle, I know YOU have heard of Intel.

Mario Morales, an analyst with IDC was quoted in EETimes regarding this competition. “You don’t want to burn Intel,” he said. “If I’m an AsusTek, I need to get processors for my other product lines from them.” Indeed, Morales believes that he envisions Intel on the top of the netbook market many years from now.

ARM is not the only one that Intel has to worry about. AMD and Nvidia’s Tegra platform will be fighting for a chunk of the market as well. Although there’s some competition it’s important to note that over the past quarter of a century, Intel has become the leader when it comes to microprocessors.

Frankly, it’s quite safe to say that the company has covered everything: desktops, laptops, CPU’s and considering all that success perhaps doubting the Atom may just be because it’s the newest to the family. The Intel family aims to develop every device from the grandest server to the humblest media appliance – a”continuum of computing,” as Paul Otellini says which spans through various tiers of power. The ultra-low-voltage versions of the chip helps position Otellini’s continuum into the handset, media player, smart Tv, and digital electronic device world.

End result – I’m thinking we’ll see Intel prevail (here’s to my first prediction of the Future **see previous entry**)