Clive Watts, Ravi Ambatipudi
ARM and National Semiconductor

Low power consumption is one of the most important features of embedded processors and has a significant impact on the cost and physical size of the end device. Even though the processor may not be the most power-hungry component of a system design, it is essential to manage processor power in order to reduce overall system power consumption. Improved processor power efficiency can increase the available power budget for features such as color screens and backlights, which are becoming standard features on portable devices, such as wireless handsets, handheld gaming consoles and portable media players.