It is arguable that ARM and Intel, the two companies locked in
head-to-head processor competition, represent two different
poles and philosophies. ARM is modestly British while Intel is
brashly American. Intel's chips have been dominant in personal
computers for decades while ARM's architecture has been market
leader in cellphones and smartphones. ARM is skilled at low
power and power efficiency and is trying to move up to higher
performance. Intel has always pursued performance but is now
working to offer low power versions of its microprocessors.
Intel is an integrated device maker. ARM does not even sell
chips – but licenses out its processor architecture and circuit
designs to semiconductor partners. To understand why the ARM
architecture and culture is shaped the way it is and is
different to processor trailblazer Intel, let's go back to a
time before the formation of ARM; to Cambridge, England in the
mid-to-late 1970s, in the early days of EE Times Sophie Wilson
is now engineering director and distingui