Peter Clarke of EE Times interviewed Robert Castellano, CEO of The Information Network (pictured), who gave him a point-blank prediction: ARM-based smartbooks will overtake Atom-based netbooks by 2012. Since only the first smartbooks are shipping this month, it is no surprise that netbooks will capture 94 percent of the market this year, standing at 22.1 million compared to 1.4 million, according to Castellano’s firm.
But by 2012, the company predicts, ARM-based smartbooks should gain 55 percent market share, with 52.9 million units, compared to some 43.2 million Atom-based netbooks claiming a 45 percent market share. The Information Network sees the justification of the platforms as being key, with an eight-hour battery life and always-on operation for smartbooks being more important than Windows compatibility.
This blog certainly welcomes such an upbeat prediction, and ARM has a solid base of licensees. Now it’s up to Google to prove its mettle with Chrome – not to mention the specific performance features we’ll see from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, nVidia’s Tegra, and future entrants to this market.
Loring
