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ARM-Android ecosystem transforming
large-screen compute in ways that
echo smartphone experience
Think back to 2009, as the Android
smart phone era dawned and the
mobile computing world was changed
forever. Up to that point, the utility
of a mobile phone was still voice
communications. Data, location and
apps-store services were rudimentary,
if available at all.
But the introduction of the Android
operating system, coupled with the
low power-consumption, size and
cost benefits of the ARM architecture,
began to transform the very definition
of mobile phone design and user
experience.
This transformation was highlighted
by:
• Longevity: Advances in low-power
design and battery life put a day’s
worth of always-on computing in
consumers’ hands.
• Enhanced utility: The availability of
rich graphics and media content on
portable devices helped make feature
phones an integral tool in consumers’
daily lives.
• Services: The ease of apps
development and the introduction
of app stores, such as Google Play,
brought about a significant increase in
number of apps and apps developers.
It simplified the consumer experience
in many ways, including eliminating
the need to install CDs. In the
process, such services revolutionized
the broader software world.
• Form factor: Thin, light and quiet
form factors coupled with good
performance, device/data security and
highly responsive devices continue to
influence systems design.
• Connectivity: Wireless connections
(cellular, Bluetooth and WiFi) were
integral to the utility of smart phones,
connecting users to a vast world of
apps and services.
Since 2009, each smart phone
generation has delivered improved
performance at the same or lower
power consumption, more robust
user experiences and richer apps.
Thanks to relentless ARM ecosystem
innovation, each new generation’s
premium phone migrated over time
to different price points, opening new
computing experiences to more (and
sometimes previously smart phone-
less) consumers. The Android-ARM
ecosystem has helped proliferate
computing throughout the world.
In concert with this hardware
revolution, a software ecosystem
has created indispensible apps and
enabled software developers to reach
new levels of creativity. The smart
phone has become, for billions of
people, an indispensible device in
daily life, helping users connect and
communicate, learn and share and
become more productive and efficient
at work and at home.
Chromebook: The vanguard of the new
mobile revolution
Arm
26 l New-Tech Magazine Europe