ARM CEO Warren East says he will be “disappointed” if the chip designer manages to capture only 20% of the traditional PC market by 2015. Indeed, ARM chips currently dominate the smartphone and tablet markets, but have yet to make significant inroads into the PC space – which is defended by Intel and its formidable arsenal of x86 architecture.
Nevertheless, a number of bullish analysts predict that ARM could theoretically claim a staggering 40% of the traditional computing market over the next four years.
As Aude Lagorce of MarketWatch notes, the lines between mobile phones and computers have “blurred” over the past three years, with both chip companies gearing up for a protracted, two-front war of attrition in the PC and mobile theaters.
And it seems as if ARM is advancing, albeit slowly, past Intel’s well-fortified lines.
For example, Hewlett Packard (HP) will reportedly begin deploying its ARM-centric webOS operating system in PCs, as well as in tablets and smartphones.
“This [decision] raises expectations that ARM may have found its [first real] entry point [into the traditional PC market],” added Lagorce.
