[LINK] Intel v ARM processors

[Fernando Cassia]

On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 4:36 AM, Birch, Jim <Jim.Birch at dhhs.tas.gov.au> wrote:
> "The reason why ARM is going to kill the microprocessor is not because
> Intel will not eventually produce an Atom [Intel's low-power
> microprocessor] that might be as good as an ARM, but because Intel has
> the wrong business model," said Dr. Hauser. "People in the mobile phone
> architecture do not buy microprocessors. So if you sell microprocessors
> you have the wrong model. They license them. So it's not Intel vs. ARM,
> it is Intel vs. every single semiconductor company in the world."
>
> http://www.asymco.com/2011/01/10/who-killed-the-intel-microprocessor/

I understand what the author is trying to say, but I wouldn´t put
things that way. "people in the mobile phone architecture do not buy
microprocessors". They DO buy cpus , it´s only that those CPUs are not
manufactured by ARM but by the likes of Samsung, Freescale, NEC, TI,
etc... and all those license the chip´s IP from ARM, ofting adding
features as they see fit (TI for instance has one line of ARM cpus
with added DSP and codecs for hardware based audio/video
compression-decompression, the DaVinci line).

This, in turn, has created a more competitive marketplace, where the
buyers have more freedom, yet, at the same time, they can be confident
that the software side has an assured compatibility base... that is,
as long as the code is compiled for ARM, it´ll just work.

So, in the end, the author is right that there´s two "models".... the
Intel model is "vertical production". From design to manufacturing,
all in-house. ARM´s model is "competitive development" where a product
core is licensed then several foundries compete to implement it in
silicon in innovative ways, using less power, adding features, etc...

ie
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/02/globalfoundries-takes-arm-cortex-a9-into-28nm-land-looks-forwar/

But a phone builder (Research In Motion (RIM) of BlackBerry fame,
Apple, etc) still has to BUY ARM CPUs.... from Samsung, Freescale,
NEC, etc.

FC