Even though Intel is quite serious about its Intel Atom processors aimed at low-power consumer electronics and mobile devices, ARM, which develops processors that power the vast majority of mobile phones sold worldwide believes that Intel Atom is not a serious competitor for its chips and that market positions of ARM will not be affected with the roll out of Atom.

“Who is to say it will be Intel taking market share from ARM and not the other way? Intel will probably always be able to make a microprocessor that runs faster, but ARM can do one that uses less power. We are still a long way ahead in that,” said Warren East, chief executive officer of ARM Holdings, in an interview with Financial Times.

Currently ARM powers about 98% of mobile phones sold worldwide, however, with the trend towards low-power computers and consumer electronics, ARM microprocessors can compete against Intel’s x86 chips on their territory, said chief exec of ARM Holdings, an IP company.

“It is still very early days, and its not a sector we are proactively pursuing, but some companies are looking at servers based on ARM,” said Mr. East.

Still, it does not mean that Intel, which is already the world’s largest maker of chips for personal computers, cannot steal ARM’s market with its high-performance offerings over time. For example, Intel Atom Z500 processor that costs $45 in business quantities has thermal design power of 0.65W can truly power advanced handhelds like Apple iPhone or RIM Blackberry.