Hackenberg said that the extremely high volume of single chip microcontrollers (such as smart cards) means that hybrid solutions are unlikely to overtake single core solutions in volume any time soon. However, higher performance device demands will continue to push the market further toward hybrid processors.

Meanwhile, some chip vendors are turning their attention to configurable processors that can deliver application-specific cores. For example, Intel's Z2460 mobile processor includes a configurable security engine, and Analog Devices' BF60x DSP includes configurable logic to accelerate vision applications.

"If processor suppliers are going to continue meeting performance expectations set by Moore's Law, clearly this is a necessary trend," said Hackenberg. "Future processors may be less marketable by their top-end frequency and more by their application specific cores."