The ARM processor has come a long way from being an obscure British microprocessor of the 1980's to being the dominant basis for the current generation of smart phones, and tablet computers. They are also used extensively in television set-top boxes, routers, and embedded applications. The ARM architecture parts still represent the highest volume of 32-bit processors being shipped, as of this writing.
In 2010, over 6 billion ARM chips were sold, mostly into the smartphone market. ARM is the target architecture for the GNU/linux-based Android operating system, and the ARM has ports of OpenSolaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and various GNU/linux variations, including Gentoo, Debian, Slackware, and Ubuntu, among others.