Arm sees over 50 new iPad-like devices out this year
IDG News Service - The launch of Apple's iPad will pave the way for a slew of rival products this year, an Arm executive said Wednesday, predicting over 50 tablet PC devices will be launched globally. — The coming swarm of tablets …
Context & Ripple Effects
Arm's forecast lands one week after Apple's iPad went on sale, with FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger estimating Apple was already on track to build 5 million iPads in the first half of 2010. The claim matters because Arm's cores sit underneath most of the smartphone supply chain now pivoting toward tablets, so an Arm executive counting 50-plus rival devices is effectively reading his own order book.
First-order effects
- Apple faces immediate volume pressure: with 5 million units planned for H1 2010 per FBR's estimate, component allocation across its suppliers tightens as dozens of rival designs queue up for the same touchscreens and application processors.
- Carriers such as Verizon, which began positioning service offerings around the iPad at launch, gain a wider menu of subsidized data devices to attach plans to.
Second-order effects
- PC makers and handset OEMs building those 50-odd tablets compete for Arm licensees and contract manufacturers, pushing silicon partners to differentiate on graphics and power rather than raw core speed.
- Apple's pricing and App Store lock-in force rivals to answer the 'why buy this instead of an iPad?' question through carrier subsidies and software ecosystems rather than hardware specs alone.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the tablet category consolidates around the same Arm-based supply chain that built the smartphone industry, shifting category power from traditional PC vendors to mobile chip designers, ODMs, and app platforms.
- Sustained carrier involvement points toward tablets becoming a contracted, subsidized device class like phones, tying hardware roadmaps to operator upgrade cycles.
The trend: The iPad launch marks the point where consumer computing splits between PC-era x86 incumbents and an Arm-led mobile supply chain racing to field tablets.