RE: [N8VEM-S100:5036] ARM CPU on the S100Bus-II

["G. Beat" <gregor...@gmail.com>]

If an ARM processor is desired, then you start with ARM's roadmap.
For example, here is the ARM7 web page.
Two notable observations: 
First, main headline on page is about migration, and second is advice to not use for new designs.
http://www.arm.com/products/processors/classic/arm7/index.php

So, we scratch ARM7, since N8VEM users would desire a longer processor life (supported Linux version, etc.)
and not immediate extinction.

That leaves the ARM9 and the ARM11.

The ARM11 is popular with mobile phones, a range of SoCs and various OEM products.
The ARM9 has been most successful, so far, and has replaced the ARM7 for entry designs.

The "who" takes a bit longer to sort out, and involves more than hardware mfg.

You may laugh, but one "bell-weather" that I routinely check is the automotive industry, especially last 20 years.
The reason is longevity of support for successful implementations.

Freescale is the old Motorola Texas/Arizona processor/IC/transistor division, and 
the Motorola auto fabrication/car module engineering & assembly was bought by another company.

Freescale has an ARM9 series, but I have not looked at it.  
I do note that Ubuntu (Linux) dropped support at 10.10 for Freescale i.MX (ARM9).
That is the wildcard ... OS support and the software development community support (earlier comments along same line).

Labor Day weekend may permit more time for research.

greg