Microsoft Surface tablet packing an Nvidia ARM chip.
(Credit: Microsoft)
Don’t be surprised if the other version of Windows 8 — you know the one that doesn’t run on Intel chips — stumbles out of the gate.
We got a taste of this on Friday when Hewlett-Packard confirmed that it won’t offer an Windows RT tablet this year.
I heard about these issues in May when a little birdie told me about problems with RT and Qualcomm and Texas Instruments at PC makers. And I wrote at the time (May 15) that HP’s Qualcomm-chip based tablet “may not happen this year.”
(So, just to be clear. The RT version of Windows 8 runs on ARM chips from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments and will not have the backward compatibility of Intel-based Windows 8.)
Related stories
- HP won’t offer an ARM-based Windows 8 tablet this year
- Windows RT devices will see limited release initially
Whether these issues are PC company-specific or chipmaker-specific or RT-specific or a combination of all three isn’t clear.
But Patrick Moorhead, president of Moor Insights & Strategy, told me this week that one ARM chipmaker is making more progress than the others.
Nvidia — which by no coincidence is in Microsoft’s RT Surface tablet — is ahead of the other two ARM guys because it has a long history of working with Windows drivers, among other reasons, according to Moorhead.
There are broader issues too, though. Microsoft, by design, is wading slowly into new Windows waters: RT is the first mainstream version of Windows to run on ARM chips.
How cautious is Microsoft? As I wrote in May, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments were initially assigned two “slots” each for devices. “ARM is restricted to two designs each, meaning six total initial designs,” said a source at the time.
One of those slots was for the Qualcomm-based HP device, referenced above.
So, Microsoft is obviously worried about quality control, which means issues, possibly major ones, are inevitable.
A best-case scenario is a staggered release of RT tablets, laptops, and hybrids. With some versions, e.g., those based on Nvidia chips, probably appearing earlier than others.
Related Links:
Windows 8 tweeners take on Apple
Just what is Windows RT, anyway? (FAQ)
Microsoft clears some fog over its new ecosystem
Microsoft’s Surface tablet vs. the iPad: Seven challenges
HP won’t offer an ARM-based Windows 8 tablet this year
via CNET Latest News http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57464552-92/the-other-windows-8-hits-some-snags/?part=rss&subj=latest-news2&tag=title
