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     This story was printed from CdrInfo.com,

     located at http://www.cdrinfo.com.

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In-Stat has released a new whitepaper where the company examines two main competitors in the industry of mobile microprocessors: ARM vs. x86

The market for processors for Internet connected mobile devices is evolving into a battle between the ARM and x86 architectures, with both architectures having advantages and disadvantages for particular applications. Both camps have been targeting the others? markets; both are well entrenched.

The battleground is set in an era where historical mega trends of mobility and the Internet have morphed into the mobile Internet and Internet ubiquity. The integration of Internet access into mobile devices reaches well beyond simple email applications and web browsing. Mobile devices now must provide interactive communication through social networking and access to live, on-demand, and user generated entertainment. As a result, the mobile processors that power these devices must handle media processing, computing functionality, and an increasing number of wireless connectivity options into a usable form factor with all-day battery life.

Key findings from the whitepaper include the following:

- The advantages of the ARM architecture are design flexibility, graphics/multimedia IP, and processor footprint/level of integration.
- The x86 architecture shines in terms of software compatibility and computational performance, which can sometimes be used in place of dedicated IP.
- The decision of choosing processors can be driven by many factors, including power consumption, price, performance, features, size, software support, and time-to-market.
- Mobile devices are not only driving innovation in silicon technology, but also in packaging technology.
- Mobile devices with Internet connectivity continue to demonstrate huge potential for growth with an overall compounded annual growth rate of 22.3% through 2013.

The whitepaper, Mobile Microprocessors: Industry Titans Collide on the Mobile Internet Battlefield, can be downloaded for free at: ttp://www.instat.com/promos/09/IN0904636WHT.asp