[jarel]

While I don't agree with everything you say(+), I'd like to thank you for taking the time for writing all this (your initial post and your comments in this thread) up. Definitely one of the more interesting reads on HN today.

(+) Web browsing is extremely complex: We have video, audio, js, plugins (flash, java, silverlight), changing standards for html, css etc. Because of this, it's not very well suited for custom chips. For this reason, modern smartphones contain both custom chips for the "phone" functionaltiy and a flexible microprocessor for Angry Birds.

There might be other areas where a few custom chips might save a lot of resources in the long run, though.