[geeks] iPad - a 'Miss' for me I'm afraid

[Mark Benson]

> Maybe it was Apple's original plan to use Atom,
> but then again they must have been designing their custom ARM chip for
> some time now.

Here's the big kicker. It's a custom designed SoC, yes, but it uses standard
ARM cores... It's 1 (maybe more CPUs) stock ARM Cortex-A9 and a companion core
called 'Mali', which handles the video, cores on a die[1]. That means no
patents, no ownership of the design and it's gonna open the doors to
competition from other manufacturers big style. Apparently the chips are made
by Samsung (who seem to be the don of ARM manufacturers these days).

It could never have sustained an Atom CPU. The chipsets are not low power
enough, they are okay in a Netbook or a tablet PC but neither of those are 12"
thin and have no fan. Also, evidence from the likes of AppleTV suggests to me
there is some caveat in Intel's contract with Apple that prevents Apple
heeling anything with an Intel CPU to only run their software. Otherwise, do
you think it'd be so easy to install Linux on the AppleTV?

I don't think once they tested it out as a concept they'd have bothered with
an Atom CPU - they aren't low power enough for the design, and Cortex-A9 has
the lifting power and video handling capability, especially when combined with
the extra Mali core to pull the same thing off with ease with much longer run
time per charge and much better heat characteristics. ARM just makes more
sense all over both strategically and energy wise.

My prediction is there'll be a dozen of these things about running Android or
WinMo by this time next year at the same price point, or lower, and probably
9/10ths as good. Apple are always the same, they break the moulds and push
forward the designs, everyone else copies them until you can't see the iPhone
for the trees and they have to break another mould to make another leap past
the competition. If the competition (people like Asus, HTC, and a dozen
others) get their acts together iPad could be a flash in the pan, after all
it's not a cellphone so it's not in that magic market spot...

[1] as yet not totally confirmed but:
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2010/1/27/apple-a4-soc-unveiled---its-an
-arm-cpu-and-the-gpu!.aspx
via: http://www.osnews.com/story/22805/Apple_s_A4_ARM_CPU_GPU

--
Mark Benson

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"Never send a human to do a machine's job..."