[ Linux, Android, Atom, and ARM -- the coming netbook revolution could carve out a whole new niche in computing Meanwhile huge performance gains in InfoWorld's Test Center review prove Intel's Nehalem owns quad-core ]
Key to this vision is Atom, the most recent entry in Intel's processor line. Compact and extremely energy-efficient, Atom is already the leading CPU for netbook computers. With its latest, ultra-low-voltage versions of the chip, Intel is poised to take x86 even further down Otellini's continuum, away from PCs and into the world of handsets, media players, smart TVs, and other digital electronic devices.
It won't be easy. Intel may be the reigning king of PCs and server CPUs, but in the world of mobile devices, that title goes to an unlikely rival: a small, unassuming company called ARM Holdings, based in Cambridge, England.
Most consumers have never even heard of ARM. You won't see ARM ad campaigns in magazines or on TV. There are no stickers proclaiming "ARM Inside!" The company employs fewer than 1,800 people, and at $3 billion, its market capitalization is a mere fraction of Intel's. But make no mistake -- ARM and Intel are on a collision course. What happens next could determine the shape of the computing industry for years to come.