VIA And ARM Still Trying to Beat Intel Atom And Get Inside Netbooks

From Gizmodo -

Both ARM and VIA are currently showing improved chips that aim to compete with Intel's Atom for netbooks.

ARM's processors are found in most smartphones, but its new dual core 2 GHZ (max) Cortex-A9 is targeted at netbooks or smartbooks. Battery life is great, but ARM still can't run Windows XP or 7. However, for Chrome OS netbooks it may just work.

VIA, on the other hand, is gunning after notebooks with 10 to 12" displays. They are pairing their VIA C7-M ULV or Nano CPU with its VX855 chipset which adds 1080p HD support. VIA has always had performance, but battery life is its Achilles heel.

Bottom line, the new products from the two companies still fall short of Intel's Atom.

Nokia to offer ARM-based smartbook, too

From TG Daily -

It turns out aside from the Nokia Booklet 3G, the company plans to release an ARM-based smartbook as well. While the Booklet 3G will be built by Compal, the smartbook will likely be outsourced to either Compal or Foxconn and is due mid-2010.

Meanwhile more details of the Booklet 3G have been released - Atom processor, 3G/HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth and A-GPS, HDMI port, front-facing camera for video calls, Bluetooth and SD card reader. It weighs 1.25 kg with a 2cm thickness. It will run Windows 7 with a battery life of 12 hours.

ECS and MSI conservative about ARM-based smartbooks

From Digitimes -

ECS and MSI will not follow Acer, Foxconn, Pegatron, Compal and Inventec which are all expected to launch ARM-based smartbooks later this year. ECS had previously gotten smartbook orders from China-based vendors. However the orders were subsequently cancelled. So now it has postponed entering the smartbook market until further developments.

Microsoft to exclude ARM netbooks for Windows 7

From Alibaba -

Microsoft's new Windows 7 will not run on netbooks powered by ARM chips, Microsoft said on Wednesday, a blow to the British firm's hopes of becoming a big player in the sector. The news comes days after ARM said it planned to grab a foothold in the fast-growing netbook market this year, and that it was aiming for a 30% share of the entire market next year.

ARM netbooks @ Computex 2009

Uploaded by timyago -

ARM hints at possible Windows 7 support

From Engadget -

During a recent analysts conference call, ARM CEO Warren East said "Microsoft will continue to play an important part in this [netbook] space," and that "if there was Windows support for the ARM processor today clearly it would be a very different marketplace." He also added "perhaps there will be support in future but that's really for Microsoft to comment on and not for us to comment on, I'm afraid."

Not quite specific but at least it gives us an indication of ARM's interest.

ARM-based platforms to enter netbook market in June

According to Digitimes, ARM-based platform manufacturers appear busy these days. Pegatron has announced it be introducing a model equipped with Freescale's i.MX51 CPU (ARM Coretex A8) at Computex Taipei 2009 while Wistron will launch a model with Qualcomm's Snapdragon CPU at the same show. In addition MSI has also reportedly expressed interest in developing Tegra-based products, and together with Asus have confirmed the possibility of launching Qualcomm CPU-based netbooks.

ARM to Enter Netbook, MID Categories

From Laptop Mag -

ARM has announced that it’s going full force into netbooks. The company is teaming up with Canonical to optimize the Ubuntu Desktop operating system for ARMv7 architecture.

The company believes its play to power netbooks is a natural evolution of its position in the mobile device market since its architecture is highly efficient, optimized for Web browsing, and can handle high-quality video. The ARMv7 architecture is already tied into the Texas Instruments OMAP and Qualcom SnapDragon platforms.

Full article here.