Qualcomm Aims to Unseat Intel in Low-Power Chip Battle

Qualcomm might be looking to unseat industry top dog Intel with its new Snapdragon chip—which uses half the power of Intel’s new Atom, will likely be cheaper, and is due out next year. As personal computers and mobile Internet devices continue to converge, the need for speed has shifted to a need to power-sip, reports the New York Times—and Intel is falling dangerously behind

Intel, also is being pressured by Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia, which recently demonstrated a sub-notebook with five times the battery life of a similar Atom-powered device. Qualcomm and Nvidia both use processors designed by ARM Holdings, a small British firm whose inexpensive processors are at the core of the cellphone industry. (More Qualcomm stories.)