ARM executive Vincent Korstanje believes that the arrival of the 'amazing value' Google Nexus 7 will signal the start of a huge acceleration of the tablet market.
Comparing the arrival of the $199/£159 tablet to the time when mobile phone operators began to offer phones for no additional fee with a contract, VP for Segment Marketing Korstanje told TechRadar that this was a game-changer.
"I think it's very interesting when you look at the Nexus 7 platform that it's priced at £160," said Korstanje.
"The thing that changed in the mobile phone market [that began its explosive growth] was when the operators started offering the phones for free.
Service history
"The price is being driven down because it's not really about hardware any more, it's about the services," he added.
"It's not about making money on the devices it's about making money from the services. That's the thing that's changed in the market.
"We've already got to 10 per cent penetration [of the US market] very fast and I think that this is going to accelerate that growth."
ARM, as you would expect, have a vested interest in the Nexus 7's success given that the device carries Nvidia's Tegra 3 chipset, and therefore ARM's Cortex-A9 designs.
Korstanje:
"I think it's a lovely device. It's very sturdy, it seems to be very high quality and it's amazing value."
But Korstanje is clearly a fan of the tablet, which TechRadar's Google Nexus 7 review suggested deserves its praise.
"I think it's a lovely device. It's very sturdy, it seems to be very high quality and it's amazing value…It's fantastic," said Korstanje.
"Services are changing the marketplace and it's us as consumers that benefit."
