ARM-Based netbooks to be released later this year

Qualcomm and Freescale, who are ARM-based platform makers are getting ready to release ARM-based netbooks later this year at Computex Taipei. A netbook model incorporated with Freescale’s i.MX51 CPU (ARM Coretex A8) and engineered by Pegatron Technology and another model manufactured by Wistron using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon CPU will be launched at Computex Taipei 2009 and later on, Nvidia Tegra-based models will make its appearance. Micro-Star International (MSI) has been rumored to have spoken of their interest in making Tegra-based products and Asustek Computer has confirmed that they are in the possibility of introducing CPU-based netbooks. DigiTimes has said that they have had a word with netbook manufacturers regarding the same.

The news has been released after the project, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) had announced that it had intentions of using an ARM CPU in the XO-2 OLPC next-generation machine. As of now, the OLPC XO-1 machine is using an AMD Geode x86 CPU but in future the OLPC team would use the ARM-based CPU in the XO-2. This has been recently reported by PC World. It also has pointed it that the release of XO-2 will not happen for another 18 months, the reason being is that a lot of changes are expected to happen within this period with reference to Microsoft and ARM.

In another piece of information, the CEO of ARM, Mr. Warren East has said that a minimum of ten ARM-based netbooks will be launched in the year 2009 on the High Street. He further stated that these netbooks could also be Linux or Android based instead of Windows, if people find it comfortable enough, thus neglecting Microsoft who had previously shown unwillingness to get involved with them. However he said that the loss would be totally that of Microsoft’s and that ARM really do not care if they don’t involve. ARM has gone on to express that the latest ARM processors, Cortex A8 and Cortex A9 will be employed in the ARM-based netbooks to be released this year. This is one reason why Microsoft is not particularly interested in ARM-based netbooks because of its connections with ARM’s rival firm, Intel. Microsoft has been having good ties with them and they would rather not disturb it.

As Intel is putting Atom to foundry, the ARM camp has benefitted immensely from it. As a result, the technologies used for manufacturing Atom and ARM-based camp have been equalized to some extent.