Friday, June 26, 2009

Netbook PCs: A platform battleground!

USA: Netbooks are a new emerging category of Personal Computers. It has also become a new emerging battleground. There are two battles shaping up. The first is among the chip vendors –- x86 vs. ARM. The second battle is the operating system – Microsoft vs. Linux.

In its latest report, “Netbook PCs: A New Platform Battleground”, Semico Research examines the usage models, market dynamics and key players for this emerging market. What are “smartbooks?” What are the market and technology trends? What has been the impact of netbooks on the MPU market? Learn more about the competition among both chip vendors and operating systems for netbooks, such as Windows and Android.

There have been several efforts over the years for a low-cost and compact mobile PC. The introduction of the Intel Atom microprocessor in 2008 spurred the growth of netbooks, reaching 12.5 million units in 2008.

The success of Atom-based netbooks has spurred interest in competing designs. Via Technologies has been shipping its 80x86 compatible Nano. Several companies have ARM-based designs that hit the market or are expected to launch in 2009. The processor vendors for these netbooks include Nvidia, Texas Instruments, Freescale, and Qualcomm.

The netbook PC market is opening up new opportunities for chip vendors other than Intel.

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