The schedule for introducing ARM-based Netbooks seems to be drifting towards next year.
Marvell, which introduced a family of ARM-based chip-sets earlier this week, one of which, the 500 series, is targeted at Netbooks said, at the ARM Tech Con in Santa Clara, California this week, that it did not expect to see ARM-based Netbooks in the shops until next year.
Design-wins for Marvell in ARM-based Netbooks were around 20, said the Marvell executive, adding that he thought Qualcomm and Freescale had around the same amount of design-wins for their ARM-based Netbook chip-sets, and that Nvidia had around 30.
See also: Marvell's ARMADA sets sail
Marvell said that ARM-based Netbooks were ready to go at ODMs Quantel and Foxconn, and showed a Quantel-built Netbook which was extremely attractive. It would cost, he said, $250, but he didn't expect it to be sold until 2010. The reason, apparently, is the lack of OEM support for the product.
Without an OEM to badge, sell and support the product, it would not be put into volume production by ODMs. The Marvell executive thought that OEMs might be waiting for consumer confidence to return.
When Marvell bought Intel's ARM-based chip division, it acquired an ARM architecture licence which Intel had received when it, in turn, bought DEC's ARM licence as one of the assets in the break-up sale of DEC.
Marvell said it had used the architecture licence to add many new futures to the ARM core when including it in the ARMADA family.