ARM's New GPUs to Step up Mobile War With NVIDIA

From DailyTech: ARM Holdings, Plc. is making waves in the crowded mobile graphics market, airing a new, more powerful next-generation design.

The chipmaker, best known for its licensed reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors, is also pushing licensable mobile graphics processing unit (GPUs) technology, including the new design -- dubbed the Mali-T658. The Mali-T658 smartphone-aimed multi-core GPU promises smoother HD video playback and improved polygon pushing in games.

ARM Holdings (or just ARM, for short) makes a GPU solution that competes with Qualcomm, Inc.'s (QCOM) Adreno GPU, NVIDIA Corp.'s (NVDA) mobile GeForce derivatives, and Imagination Technologies Group Plc.'s PowerVR designs.

Qualcomm and NVIDIA also happen to be the two of ARM Holdings biggest clients, licensing its CPU design, used in their respective Snapdragon and Tegra lines.

In other words, ARM is competing against its own biggest clients. The awkward relationship brings to mind Google Inc.'s (GOOG) dual-role as a smartphone OEM competitor via recently acquired Motorola Mobility and its dual-role as a smartphone OS maker, gifting its Android OS on its OEM-level competitors like South Korea's Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. Coincidentally Samsung licenses ARM's CPU and GPU designs, and other Android handset makers like Google almost exclusively use ARM-licensed CPUs.

View: Article @ Source Site