ARM has announced the Cortex A8 mobile processor which will be capable of delivering up to 1GHz of processing power. From the
press release:
"ARM today announced its new Cortex™-A8 processor which will revolutionize consumer and low-power mobile devices, enabling the delivery of higher levels of entertainment and innovation to end users. Launched at the second annual ARM® Developers' Conference, in Santa Clara, California, the ARM Cortex-A8 processor delivers up to 2,000 DMIPS making it ideal for demanding consumer products running multi-channel video, audio, and gaming applications. For next-generation mobile devices, the ARM Cortex-A8 processor delivers industry-leading performance and power efficiency while using less than 300 mW in 65nm technology. For the first time, low-cost, high-volume products will have access to desktop levels of performance using the Cortex-A8 processor."
The ARM Cortex-A8 is expected to be available to licensees and device manufacturers starting the first quarter of 2006. With a low-power processor providing 1GHz of processing power, next-gen handhelds and smartphones will truly become mobile computers.