ARM predicts over 50 tablet devices to launch globally in 2010

Posted 03/10/2010 at 2:42pm | by Bart Salisbury

1

Comment

Print

ARM is looking at the future of tablet PCs, and is liking what it sees. ARM is expecting over 50 tablet PCs, a goodly number of which will be running on ARM chips, to be launched globally in 2010, thanks in part to the interest stirred up by the introduction of Apple’s iPad.

Says Roy Chen, ARM’s manager for worldwide mobile computing: “The first tablet devices will launch in the second quarter by [mobile network] carriers. You'll see a lot more in the third quarter.” A lot of this activity, Chen says, will take place in China, and he expects there’ll be products offered by the top ten telecommunications network operators.

ARM’s insight apparently comes from an inside view of the products its chips are being used in. ARM is often requested for additional engineering support, or is tied into a partnership arrangement.

While ARM's insight may be accurate, 50 seems like an awfully high number. It could be a matter of how ARM is defining a tablet PC. Perhaps it includes some new touchscreen-enabled smartphones. If accurate, however, and all of these new devices are legitimate tablet PCs, it will make 2010 a very interesting year indeed.

Image Credit: mobilecomputermag.co.uk