ARM Holdings Targets Mid-Range Smartphones and Wearable Devices
LONDON -- Shares in ARM Holdings fell back 2% to 970 pence on Monday morning, despite the announcement of an exciting new range of processing technology.
The Cambridge-based chip designer is hoping that its Cortex-A12 processor will become the chip of choice for mid-range smart phones and tablets . This market, which covers devices around the 200 pound mark, is forecast to total 580 million units in 2015, when it could exceed the numbers of premium devices.
ARM's chief marketing officer, Ian Drew, said:
Mobile users expect a range of devices at different price points, and for a mid-range mobile experience to include some high end mobile features. With a billion smart phones predicted to ship in 2013, and tablets projected to out-ship notebook PCs, device-makers can now provide quality, high-performance mobile products with the features that matter the most, at a range of price points.
Drew also told Reuters in an interview that "wearable and Interneted devices are starting to come into the industry," and could be launched later this year.
ARM said its partners would announce their plans for its new A12 technology in due course, with the first devices expected to hit the market around the middle of next year. A12 should provide around 40% more performance than the company's existing A9 design, while still using the same level of power.
The company is also releasing a new version of its Mali video technology today, called the V500. It is designed to provide more secure streaming of premium video content, such as films and TV, to mobile devices.
Shares in ARM are up 26% so far this year, but have fallen significantly in the last couple of weeks since they briefly topped 11 pounds. Some analysts have pointed to Intel's recent overhaul of its Atom mobile processors at the cause of this recent weakness.
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