ARM said it is working with Microsoft to develop a processor architecture

According to reports, Philip Lu, president of the ARM Taiwan Division, revealed at a press conference held in Taipei recently that ARM has been working with Microsoft to develop a processor architecture.

In view of the consideration of trade secrets, Lu Hongxiang did not disclose more detailed information. Many Taiwanese equipment manufacturers and design manufacturers believe that the cooperation between ARM and Microsoft will focus on smart phones, tablet computers and other types of handheld devices.

Lu Hongxiang pointed out that in 2010, global shipments of ARM chips reached 6.1 billion, a growth rate of 55% from 2009, and even more than 30% of the industry average. Of these ARM chips, 62% are for mobile Internet access devices, 19% for embedded devices, 14% for business devices and 5% for home products.

Lu Hongxiang said that ARM has authorized Samsung Electronics, Texas Instruments, ST Ericsson and other chip designers/buyers to use Cortex A15 related patents. Cortex A15 products are expected to be released later this year or earlier in 2012.

Lu Hongxiang also revealed that ARM has been engaged in the research and development of new application architectures. These new applications include microcontrollers, sensors, solid-state drives, medium-sized mobile computing devices, and large-scale servers. In 2020, the global cumulative shipments of ARM-based integrated circuits are expected to exceed 100 billion.