The scalability of the processor series enables ARM partners to create system-on-chips (SoCs) that address diverse markets, from smartphones through to high-performance servers.
However, on the Windows RT variant of the system - which will power cheaper tablets running on ARM-based chips - app publishers will only be able to sell their products through the Windows 8 store designed for the touchscreen interface, with all its associated restrictions.
The QCA1990 is the industry's smallest, ultra-low power system-on-chip (SoC) with an overall footprint that is 50 percent smaller than current NFC chips available in the market.
Later units will have Global Positioning System chips to eliminate the common mistake--caught by software on Bolofsky's site--of failing to match the street address to a written description of where a car was parked.
Dell will try to take some of the complexity out of this week's announcements by offering only the 500-MHz version of the mobile Pentium III chips on its system.