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Architecture Wars: Staking a Claim in the Nearly 4 Billion Unit Mobile Processor Market

 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., December 30, 2010 - Currently, two architectures, ARM and x86 dominate the low and high-end of the mobile market, respectively, and are battling it out for the mid-range convergence devices like e-readers, tablets, and netbooks.  However, other architectures, such as MIPS and SH, are equally suited to power mobile SoCs and as more emphasis is placed on the OS and mobile applications, the use of a particular processor architecture or instruction set is likely to become less important, says In-Stat (www.in-stat.com).  The differentiating factors become price, power, and performance as competing architectures wage war to gain their share of the nearly 4 billion unit mobile processor market in 2014.

“ARM will dominate in the handsets and high-end handheld solutions like tablets and e-readers; the x86 architecture, primarily Intel at this point, will dominate in the PC-like solutions ranging from netbooks up through traditional notebooks; MIPS will continue to dominate in the limited-function handheld solutions; and SH will continue to have its market niches in the Japanese device market,” says Jim McGregor, Chief Technology Analyst.  â€œIn addition, there are likely to be many moves by both start-ups and existing companies, such as the ASIC, MCU, and connectivity vendors to expand into the mobile processor market through internal growth and acquisitions.”

Recent research findings include:

  • Nearly 75% of all mobile processors will be multi-core in 2014, and an even higher percentage will have integrated baseband.
  • The trend toward integrated baseband modems will become a critical differentiator for mobile processors over the next few years.
  • Tablets represent the fastest growing market segment for mobile processors with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 123.6% from 2009 through 2014.
  • Cellphones, including feature phones and smartphones, represent the largest opportunity for mobile processors today and for the foreseeable future.

Recent In-Stat research, Mobile Processors: The Battle Heats Up in 2011 (#IN1004747SI), examines the overall TAM of the mobile processor market by applications, as well as the trends and what and who are likely to emerge on top as the industry evolves.

Included in this report is the following:

  • Forecast for each mobile category as defined and tracked by In-Stat
  • Forecast by architecture for the high-end devices, like smartphones, PCs, and tablets
  • Processor market shares for major product categories
  • Forecasts of integration patterns for multiple cores, GPUs, and baseband modems
  • Estimated value of the key processor components
  • Forecasts of who is likely to emerge as the industry leaders and why

This research is part of In-Stat’s Mobile Technology service, which provides analysis of the market for technologies, IP and semiconductors that enable next generation mobile devices, including processors, graphics, modems, GPS, displays, memory, storage, operating systems, software, and human interfaces.

Related In-Stat research:

Small Cells Will Play a Very Large Part in 4G: Worldwide Femto, Pico, and Microcell Market Analysis

The Rise of the Internet Tablet: The Keys of Success

Report Info

About In-Stat

In-Stat’s market intelligence combines technical, market and end-user research and database models to analyze the Mobile Internet and Digital Entertainment ecosystems. Our insights are derived from a deep understanding of technology impacts, nearly 30 years of history in research and consulting, and direct relationships with leading players in each of our core markets. In-Stat provides its research through reports, annual subscriptions, consulting and advisory services to inform critical decisions. Technology vendors, equipment manufacturers, service providers and media companies worldwide rely on In-Stat to support critical business, product and technology decisions.

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