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Mobile World Congress – The computer show of the new decade?
Posted by Jeff Chu, Feb 3 2010, 04:42 PM
In preparing for my very first MWC, I was thinking: is this just going to be a mini CES? I started by looking into the number of attendees and who the exhibitors are and saw that this is a much more targeted show focused on mobile phones. Then I really started to dig and realized I couldn’t have been more wrong, there is so much more to it than the term “mobile phones.” Looking at session topics and the news in the mobile space today, it became clear that maybe we should be thinking of MWC as the up and coming computer show of the new decade. Yesterday’s mobile phone ecosystem is tomorrow’s computer ecosystem.
Today, the fastest growing segment of the mobile phone market is the smartphone. What seems to be some of the most compelling features to consumers are the instant access to their email, the ability to get to the web wherever they are, and the huge availability of applications addressing specific individual needs. Aren’t these the things we used to do on our...
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CES …catalyst for well placed bets…ARM everywhere
Posted by Bob Morris, Jan 26 2010, 08:05 PM
CES has always been where future ideas are tested and the impact of well placed bets becoming a reality. At 2006, people starting talking about HDTVs connected to the internet, ARM realized that to become a leader in these devices we must support the internet. This kicked-off internal discussions that were initially focused on getting ARM into computing, but very quickly it boiled down to “it’s the internet stupid” and that the internet would be critical for ARM’s success in the future. This initiated engineering efforts by ARM and our Partners to make this a reality. Fast forward four years and I can say the bet paid off in spades and in ways, we did not imagine. Let me show you what impressed me …
eBooks/Readers explosion … this was the year of the eBook/eReader at CES, they were everywhere and a couple received best of show in their categories. The Barnes and Noble nook, Alex by Spring Design, and Entourage edge; all integrated a second screen and...
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Finally GPUs make a difference!
Posted by Remi Pedersen, Jan 21 2010, 04:51 PM
Seven years ago I was working in a small company where we based our entire existence (and our investors’ money) on one single fact; that 2004 would be the year when hardware accelerated graphics took off in mobile phones. Every major handset vendor would ship devices with performance & features going beyond current handheld consoles. Accelerated mobile gaming, ranging from high-end 3D action to 2D casual games, was going to be the main driving factor, and would soon be followed by animated greeting cards, 3D mascots and real-time advertisements.
Six years after that important breakthrough, which, by the way, didn't quite arrive as planned, I'm now rather happy that we adjusted our direction a couple of times during the early 00's. Not just because I still have a company to work for, although that is nice, but also because the market is now finally ready for the kind of GPU capabilities we were planning for back then.
Different forms of graphics acceleration have...
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Only the Paranoid Survive: Inflection In Consumer Electronics
Posted by Ian Drew, Jan 14 2010, 08:34 PM
When I started out in the industry, I worked for Intel as they were transitioning from 386 to 486 and then onto Pentium; all guided by the hand of the great Andy Grove. In his book Only the Paranoid Survive, he described this time as an inflection point in the PC industry. This was because of the innovation, diversity and growth of this new industry. From my point of view, CES this year also marked a major point of inflection in the industry, but this time not in the PC world but in the consumer electronics world. Three major trends are clearly happening:
Glass is becoming connected - If you went to the Sony, Samsung, Panasonic stands you were struck by the amount, size, shape, diversity of DTVs that are being produced. From 3D images to ultrathin devices this show was a coming out party of all that’s good in the DTV area, but the most over riding memory is how many of them have Ethernet, wifi or some other connection being built in. The TV is going to be connected...
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2010 Mobile Predictions from Dual Core Cortex-A9 to Android…
Posted by James Bruce, Jan 13 2010, 08:00 AM
This is a traditional time of year as I prepare for 2010 Mobile World Congress to think about what we are going to see in the mobile world in 2010, and start the office sweepstake on how many phones and laptops we will have stolen this year.
If you are reading this at the end of 2010 and totally impressed with my forecasting skills, well thank you, if you are bent double with laughter then this is proof on how dynamic the mobile market is.
So as I’m an old tech guy I will give you my 10 (octal) predictions for 2010, or should I say 3732?
Consumers Just Want to Do More with More ARM Processors
As Smartphones become an integral part of the consumer’s digital life they expect their Smartphone to handle that many tasks without having to wait. In response to this demand expect Smartphones to increase their multitasking capacity through software/UI enhancements, and through the hardware with the adoption of dual core Cortex-A9. Expect Apple to...
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Together We Enable Android on ARM Innovation
Posted by Jenny Su, Jan 4 2010, 05:53 PM
I was travelling in Japan a few weeks ago attending the Embedded Technology Trade Show. There were two things that impressed me - what little the girls wear in winter and how many partners support Android…And I was pleased to find out that within these Android partners, many of them have ARM solutions too. So I invited them to join the ARM Solution Center for Android (SCA) which is a resource for designers and developers of ARM technology-based products running on Android. Today we have more than 45 Partners of the ARM Connected Community that have joined this initiative since it was launched in November. More than 10 Partners have already posted their Android resources such as whitepapers, videos and solutions slides on our SCA homepage. Below, I’ve highlighted some of my favorites.
Below is an Android videos from VisualOn which highlights the performance difference between the default multimedia framework shipped with the Android software stack and VisualOn’s...
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A Non-Techie’s ARM Powered Holiday Wish List
Posted by Katie Morgan, Dec 15 2009, 02:47 PM
It’s hard to believe that almost a year ago I joined ARM, as a new graduate…what a world spin it has been! With limited knowledge of what ARM did, let alone how a microprocessor works, joining this team has brought me to a whole new understanding of what technology is and can be. Purchasing an electronic device no longer is what color does it come in or how small can it be, rather “How does the limited size affect the battery life and connectivity?” or “What type of user interface and customizations will best fit my needs?” What I have learned is that, what’s behind all the plastic and visual appeal is what actually enables my always connected and highly digital life to function. So keeping that in mind, these are the products that I want to give my family as long as I don’t keep them for myself. 
Amazon Kindle DX eBook
Freescale i.MX31 Processor
Qualcomm MSM6801
ARM1136JF-S & ARM9 Processors
This upgraded version of the Kindle 2 has a...
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First Axiom of Low Power Design – Think Size
Posted by Kerry McGuire, Dec 9 2009, 04:51 PM
As a student of physics, I have always been drawn to the fundamental truths. However, after a career of marketing it took a true scientist to remind me to go back to my roots and look for the simple truths that hide within complex problems.
It happened when I was giving a recent talk to a large group of ARM engineers and technical fellows at our internal global engineering conference. The subject of my talk was an inside look at the much talked about ARM vs X86 battle. I naturally highlighted many of the power differences between two very different approaches to processor design including the fact that the ARM architecture was designed from the start for mobile.
After my talk I was approached by one of the most famous (internal to ARM) original architects of the ARM instruction set. As a marketer at an engineering conference, it was an honor to finally meet him in person and I was surprised that he took the time to talk to me. He complimented me on my talk but then very...
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Getting the best user experience using the Mali Developer Tools
Posted by Nizar Romdan, Dec 7 2009, 03:45 PM
A while back I was riding my motorbike in the country roads surrounding Cambridge, when my gearbox shift became detached. Luckily I managed to stop the bike by engaging the clutch and coasting it until it stopped. I thought that the ride was over and that I would need to call the insurance company to take the bike back to the garage but I remembered that when I bought the bike the sales person convinced me to go for the grand touring version because it comes with a full set of tools underneath the seat that can help fix any problem I might face. So I said “ok this is it, it’s time to find out if that really works or if that was just marketing”. To my surprise the tools were really tailored to match all the bolts, nuts, etc. that were fitted to the bike and I managed to fit back the gearbox shift easily within 15 mins following the instructions in the quick fix manual that was also underneath the seat. A few months later I had to change the rear suspension which normally I would...
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Lookout - Prepay smartphones for under £100 ($165)
Posted by Rob Coombs, Dec 2 2009, 03:12 PM
I was looking for a Christmas present for my teenage daughter last week and was looking to buy her a low cost “Pay as you go” phone. Pre-pay feature phones usually cost less than £100 in the UK and offer a functional, if limited, user experience. Some of the more popular styles have been low cost touch screens that imitate the look of more expensive smartphones, but without the slick user experience (rich graphics, vast app stores, snappy response). So I found myself in Car Phone Warehouse looking at the phones from the big 6 OEMs (Apple, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson) and was amazed to see that a £99 Nokia touch screen cell phone (Nokia 5530) was a S60 device – a full blown smartphone running on a fast ARM11. I checked the price on Amazon and in the USA it is available unlocked for $199. These are impressively low price points and make smartphones, without contract, available to a much wider audience. The smartphone market is expected to grow to...
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