Intel might be ruling the netbook segment in terms of processors, but it soon will have competition. DigiTimes reported that Qualcomm and Freescale are planning to launch ARM-based netbooks. Both silicon players will show off their netbooks at Computex 2009 that begins on June 2 at Taipei, Taiwan.
Qualcomm had exhibited their Snapdragon 'System-on-Chip' based on the ARM-architecture, packing 3G, graphics and processor built over chipset, which resulted in low power consumption and use over instant-on device.
The company will now demonstrate Snapdragon-based netbook. Also, ASUS and MSI have confirmed that they're planning Qualcomm CPU-based netbooks.
Freescale will showcase a netbook based on i.MX51 system-on-chip (ARM Coretex A8) manufactured by Asus spin-off Pegatron Technology. This CPU runs at 1GHz and is capable of decoding 720p video, which is quite impressive. MSI has also expressed its intentions to develop Nvidia Tegra System on Chip based netbooks.
It seems there is a lot to look forward to at Computex 2009, at least on the netbook front.