Tablet Computer - System Architecture

System Architecture

Two major computer architectures dominate the tablet market, Intel's x86 and ARM architecture.

Intel's x86, including x86-64 has provided the brains of the IBM compatible PC since 1981, and Apple's Mac computers since 2006. The CPUs have been incorporated into a number of tablet PCs over the years and have generally offered greater performance along with the ability to run full versions of Microsoft Windows, along with 25 years of associated Windows desktop and enterprise applications on the devices. There are also non-Windows based x86 tablets like the JooJoo.

ARM has been the CPU architecture of choice for manufacturers of smartphones (95% ARM), PDAs, digital cameras (80% ARM), set-top boxes, DSL routers, smart televisions (70% ARM), storage devices and tablet computers (95% ARM) this century. This dominance dates back to the release of the mobile-focused and comparatively power-efficient 32-bit ARM610 SoC (System On a Chip) originally designed for the Apple Newton and Acorn A4 back in 1993. The chip was rapidly adopted by the likes of Psion, Palm and Nokia for their own PDA offerings and later smartphones, camera phones, cameras, etc. ARM's licensing model has also helped in this spread and current dominance of the mobile device space by allowing device manufacturers to licence, alter and fabricate custom SoC derivatives specifically tailored to their own products. This has helped manufacturers extend battery life and shrink component count along with the size of devices.

The multiple licensee have also ensured multiple generic ARM fabricators are supplying near identical products into the market while encouraging price competition. This has historically forced unit prices down to a fraction of their x86 equivalents, as well as offering the manufacturer some insurance against supply insecurities. The architecture has historically had limited support from Microsoft, with only Windows CE available, but with the release of Windows 8, in 2012, Microsoft has announced greater support for the architecture, as well as shipping their own range of ARM-based tablet computers, branded as the Microsoft Surface, as well as an x86-64 Intel Core i5 variant branded as the "Microsoft Surface Pro".