More companies have signed on for ARM's Big.Little chip design technology, which mixes low-power and power-hungry cores for more efficient energy use of chips in smartphones, tablets, servers and other equipment.

Chipmaker LSI is hoping to improve networking performance and flexibility with its ARM-based Axxia 4500 processor family, announced Monday.

Warren East, the outgoing CEO of UK chip design company ARM, has never displayed the bravado of his counterparts across the Atlantic, and that was on show Tuesday when he explained his surprise decision to leave the company on July 1.

Microsoft's new version of Windows written for ARM processors may not be an unqualified success, but ARM's CEO Warren East said the software maker will learn from its mistakes with Windows RT and come back with a better product.

One of the first low-cost Android tablets with an Intel x86 processor was announced at Mobile World Congress, setting the stage for a long battle between the world's largest chip maker and ARM, whose processors go into most tablets today.

Smartphone vendors will rely on upgrades such as full-HD screens and more powerful yet more frugal processors to entice customers to buy new phones in 2013.

Chip design firm ARM grabbed the spotlight at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week when Microsoft announced that its new Windows OS would work on the ARM architecture. ARM processors go into most of the world's smartphones and tablets, and with Windows support, the company can now focus on the wider market for PCs, where it has virtually no presence. Nvidia also announced that it was building its first ARM-based chip, code-named Denver, for PCs and servers.