Google unravels Wintel: The crack in Microsoft’s armor makes Intel vulnerable
Google thinks it can use the web and all of its efficiencies to challenge Microsoft. Now, it turns out that the crack in Microsoft’s armor will also make Intel vulnerable, threatening to unravel the Wintel duopoly that has dominated computing since the 1980s.
Tonight, Google announced that Chrome OS, its new operating system, will run on computers with either x86-based or ARM-based chips. No longer will Intel have the monopoly on chips that are at the… Continue Reading
LG Electronics adopts ARM processors in TVs — to help with Web 2.0 features
LG Electronics, the world’s second largest maker of televisions, has adopting ARM’s processors in its line-up of future digital TVs, one more sign of momentum for ARM (ARM.L).
ARM’s chip designs have become popular in mobile smart phones, because they use little power, and they’ve largely killed chip giant Intel’s ambitions so far in that market. ARM has more than 500 customers who license its microprocessor designs. So today’s announcement isn’t that surprising.
But it does signal an… Continue Reading
ARM’s Cortex-M0 core: the lowest-power ARM chip yet for wireless devices
ARM is announcing today a new microprocessor core that can bring fast performance to even the smallest of electronic devices.
The Cortex-M0 processor core is a 32-bit chip — meaning it can process data in 32-bit chunks and is just about as fast as some low-end computers. Yet it carries the price tag of lesser 8-bit chips and can operate on a very low amount of power.
The Cambridge, U.K.-based company makes microprocessor cores, the core building… Continue Reading
Multi-core smartphones! (Not the iPhone, yet)
At the Mobile World Congress in Spain this week, ARM is teaming up with ST-Ericsson to show off its new Cortex-A9 multi-core processor. At a private event, the companies will be demonstrating what it says is the first Symmetric Multi Processing (SMP) model running on the Symbian mobile operating system. Symbian, while still the world’s largest smartphone operating system (with nearly 50 percent of the market in Q3 2008), fails to elicit the excitement of… Continue Reading
Roundup: Scrabulous returns, Dell’s music player and more
Here’s the latest action:
Scrabulous returns as Wordscraper — The popular Facebook application was redesigned and relaunched less than 48 hours after it was taken down due to a potential legal tussle with Scrabble-maker Hasbro.
Dell tests digital music player — The computer maker stopped selling players in 2006 due to disappointing sales, but it has a new offering that could go on sale as early as September.
Job site Monster acquires search company Trovix for $72.5 million in cash — Monster… Continue Reading
Intel launches chips that will bring the Internet to everyday devices
Intel is releasing the first in a series of chips that are aimed at bringing computer smarts and high-speed Internet connectivity to just about every kind of electronic device.
The new foray into low-power portable chips for the “embedded” market will connect the Internet to everything from in-car entertainment systems to handheld mobile Internet devices, said Gadi Singer, vice president of mobility at the world’s biggest chip maker.
Today, Intel is launching its EP80579 family of eight… Continue Reading
Chip war breaks out among firms targeting mobile Internet devices
Samsung Electronics has quietly built a $4 billion business providing chips that serve as the brains of consumer electronics gadgets. Among its big wins are the iPods, iPhones, and portable navigation devices such as the Dash Express.
But it’s starting to talk more now. The company says its System LSI division within Samsung Semiconductor is targeting the fast-growing digital photo frame and mobile Internet device markets as well. Those markets are expected to hit tens of… Continue Reading