Alea,
Qualcomm,TI,Nvidia are hoping they can compete with Intel through Win 8 Tablets/PC's using lower power consuming CPU's than Intels. Intels CPU's are faster but use more power and generate more heat. They need to be cooled and are tough on battery life. We shall see. Not long to wait.
Interesting that Intel through the purchase of an Infineon Division has a ARM licensing agreement, HMMMM
"Intel, Qualcomm, ON Semi. Nichia are Biggest Chipmaking Winners of 2011
Intel's Infineon purchase paid off with a substantial rise in revenue
For all its critics and cynics, Intel Corp. (INTC) was still on top of the chipmaking market in 2011, posting one of the largest year-to-year growth numbers, according to a new report [press release] by iSuppli.
I. The Winners
Intel's whopping 20.6 percent gains came thanks to its purchase of Infineon’s wireless unit, an ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) licensee who makes mobile baseband processors using the lightweight architecture, helped Intel realize big mobile sales and embed itself in smartphones.
Another big winner was San Diego, Calif. based Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM). Buoyed by strong sales of Android handsets, Qualcomm posted explosive 41.6 percent growth, rising from 9th place in global chip sales to 6th place. Interestingly, Qualcomm is poised to wage war with Intel in the PC space in 2012, with the launch of the ARM-friendly Windows 8 and Snapdragon 4-powered laptops/tablets.
Qualcomm's chipmaking rivals NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) posted modest growth of 12.9 and 7.5 percent, respectively. While not exactly the sales juggernaut that Snapdragon has proved, NVIDIA's Tegra and Texas Instruments' OMAP chip families sold well in 2011, supplementing the companies' more traditional sales fodder.
http://www.dailytech.com/Intel+Qualcomm+ON+Semi+Nichia+are+Biggest+Chipmaking+Winners+of+2011/article24316.htm