ARM unveils Most Efficient 32bits CPU

Nothing could be further from the power-hungry (but powerful) quad-core ARM CPUs you'd expect to find in your new smartphone or tablets. But ARM's new Cortex-M0+, is equally needed and as -or even more- important than its most famous relatives.

Put simply, this is the most efficient 32bit CPU ever made, using roughly a third of the power any other 8 or 16 bit CPU uses (just 9µA/MHz), while providing far more computational power.

You're not likely to find such a CPU powering your smartphone, but this cheap to manufacture (and small: measuring just 1x1mm) will certainly find lot of applications. ARM says it will be a key player in the "internet of things" scenario. A scenario where any/all device, no matter how small - even a simple temperature sensor or light switch, or light bulb - could be connected to the internet, and easily accessible/controllable from any anywhere in the world.

Let's see if that pans out... As I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one wishing that Android@Home thing could really become real, and offer affordable devices that could make our houses smarter and more efficient.