You’ve gotta give Intel credit.

They know that smaller, more mobile computing is the future, and they’ve been pushing and pushing their Atom processor, and they’ve done a pretty good job in basically overtaking the netbook category in that regard. When it comes to tablets, however, the Atom is apparently not the processor of choice.

Sources from various notebook manufacturers have mentioned that they will be leaning towards more cost- and energy-efficient ARM processors from Freescale, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, with Android as the chief OS. Great news for those manufacturers, but don’t count Intel out quite yet. They still have the ability to be a contender if they can convince manufacturers that their new Atom processors, which will consume 50% less power in some instances, have what it takes.

According to sources:

Intel is currently negotiating with several Taiwan-based PC vendors to showcase Intel-based tablet PCs at Intel Developer Forum 2010 (IDF 2010), which will be held in the US in September. Most vendors have agreed to demonstrate engineering samples; however, whether they will mass-produce the Intel-based tablet PCs will depend on market demand, the sources noted.

We’ll have to wait for the final outcome, but Intel does have some catching up to do if they plan to compete with the ARM processors in the growing tablet market. Time will tell.

via [digitimes]