Microsoft has hit back at allegations from Intel that the four versions of Windows ARM would not run existing PC programs and would offer a poor experience to users.
“Yes, the ARM guys are getting a port to Windows,” Renee James Intel’s head of software had told analysts the other day. “They are getting four ports to Windows,” she added, going on to say none of those ports would support legacy software.
James also implied that apps written for one version of Windows 8 on an ARM device might not work on another device running a different flavor ARM chip. Nvidia, Marvell, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Freescale, Apple and many others build their own chips based on ARM’s reference designs, each with their own unique value adds.
Microsoft called James’ comments “factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading,”
While this may look like a storm in a teacup to some, it could develop into a serious battle between the two chip designers, as the battle of x86 vs ARM looks finally set to explode into the mobile space.
In the past, Microsoft’s Windows software worked only on Intel’s x86 platform, but recently the Redmond giant announced it would be building a version for ARM chips, which have spread like wildfire to encompass tablets as well as 99% of smartphones.
Microsoft showed Windows working on ARM for the first time just a short while ago.
