Apple has just finished purchasing little known chip maker P.A. Semi. The $278 million dollar deal (which recently closed at Steve-O's house) would undoubtedly be the first step in tasking the boutique chip manufacturer to produce processors that will power future versions of the iPhone — and possibly the iPod.

P.A. Semi apparently has the chops too. Last year the company announced a 64-bit dual core processor that it claimed was around 300% more efficient than its nearest opponent. Products featuring a P.A. Semi engineered chipset wouldn't hit shelves for at least a year or so. Blam over at Giz thinks that Intel and ARM are probably less than thrilled at this news. He also thinks (and I do too) that it's logical for Apple to work in its own internal hardware in order to produce better devices. Here's to speculation. But for Steve it's likely this is* all part of the plan*.

[ForbesVia The Giz]

*[Photo Courtesy of the Giz] *