Ars Technica has published a quite interesting article on Intel's coming x86 CPU Atom. Intel is targeting the low-cost and ultramobile market with its new CPU architecture and it's main competition on the smaller device market comes from the already well established ARM architecture. ARM-based hardware can be found all around you, such as cell phones from Sony or Nintendo's portable video game consoles. The article goes into how much the x86 architecture has to add to the smaller mobile devices and the consequences it will have for the performance of Intel's Atom processors.
"RISC architectures currently have the embedded space just as tightly sewed up as RISC architectures had the workstation space in the years before the Pentium Pro. The big three for embedded are ARM, PowerPC, and MIPS. Of these three, ARM is far and away the most popular for gadgets and consumer electronics. Empty your pockets and purse or briefcase of mobile gadgetry, and chances are there's at least one ARM-based chip under the skin of each device with a battery and a screen. Whether you're packing a Blackberry or a Nintendo DS Lite, you're toting ARM hardware."
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