Microsoft sees future for ARM-based tablets, but maybe not Windows RT


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The rest of the industry may have turned its back on Windows RT, but it looks as if Microsoft isn't prepared to ditch the Windows-on-ARM dream just yet. During an analyst call, Terry Myerson, Microsoft's recently-crowned software chief, seemed to describe RT as a first attempt, which'll be followed up by further devices in the future:
 
"Windows RT was our first ARM tablet(sic). And as phones extend into tablets, expect us to see many more ARM tablets, Windows ARM tablets in the future."
 
Myerson's choice of words, and in particular his reference to phones that "extend into tablets", suggests that Microsoft could be looking to bridge the divide between its smartphone and tablets divisions, and perhaps give Windows Phone a much more prominent role than the much-maligned Windows RT. Indeed, using Windows Phone as a tablet OS, or merging WP and RT, would help Microsoft to unify its various platforms and apps -- something it has talked about in the past and that is actually a key focus of Myserson's work:
 
"... we really should have one silicon interface for all of our devices. We should have one set of developer APIs on all of our devices. And all of the apps we bring to end users should be available on all of our devices."
 
So, who knows, perhaps Windows Phone and RT have a common future? In which case, the idea of Nokia taking charge of this unified drive -- building phones and tablets on the same platform -- would make a lot of sense.

 

 

 
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With that in mind Windows Phone 9 might be another major reboot and basically be Windows RT with phone features added in.

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With that in mind Windows Phone 9 might be another major reboot and basically be Windows RT with phone features added in.

I wouldn't think of it as a major reboot, WP8 and WinRT8 are very close at the core level, it's all NT and the APIs are very close. I think Windows RT running on phones, phablets and mini-tablets was always the right way to go with it so this move isn't a surprise. The question is how soon, I think it could be before WP9, WP8.1 should bring the APIs closer yet again and I have a feeling the next version, which could be an 8.2 or 8.5 will be the one that does it.

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I like the idea of creating an app for the market and it works on all platforms. However, so far APIs have been different among the different versions on the phone. That is one platform with API differences. Not to mention Windows 8 API is also different. I am so tired of keeping track of different versions of apps and the API differences. Based on Microsoft's current track record I do not think API's will be unified anytime soon. What a pain and mess.

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They don't have to be unified so much as they can be replaced, the current Windows Phone specific APIs will just switch over to being whatever the Windows RT APIs are. It's more of a switch than a merge.

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I actually REALLY like RT for Mr and Mrs Joe Average. Nearly all of this type of person I help only use their computer for email, web, photos, and a bit of word processing - all of which is done on the RT. The MASSIVE advantage is they can be a complete wally on the computer and they don't get viruses, don't kill its performance, or accidentally delete the C drive!

 

I think what MS did was right, rather than what apple has done. Making a laptop/PC hybrid means you get a PRODUCTIVE tablet (desktop environment) while a Phone/Tablet hybrid means you get...well a phone with a big screen. Assuming you don't have a desktop running on your phone (oh the winmo days!).

 

Unifying the METRO side of things (modern side?) would be good however. No reason that a phone app shouldn't run on a tablet or PC - once devs get used to the resolution and input device (mouse vs touch) differences.

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Also, the REAL reason OEMs didn't like RT was margin pressure (especially compared to Android) - you have higher license costs, higher QA/QC (almost as high per device as desktop Windows) - basically, it comes down to revenue per device.

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Also, the REAL reason OEMs didn't like RT was margin pressure (especially compared to Android) - you have higher license costs, higher QA/QC (almost as high per device as desktop Windows) - basically, it comes down to revenue per device.

MS should push it's services more and give the OS, at least for the phones, away for free. The goal is to get people using things like skydrive, office, xbox music and so on, they can afford to forgo the small revenue from WP OS licensing IMO.

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MS should push it's services more and give the OS, at least for the phones, away for free. The goal is to get people using things like skydrive, office, xbox music and so on, they can afford to forgo the small revenue from WP OS licensing IMO.

 

Not just phones, but for tablets too.  They should require a minimum spec and design requirements to GET it free, however.  It's the only way they're going to make inroads against Android and iOS in the mobile space.

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With that in mind Windows Phone 9 might be another major reboot and basically be Windows RT with phone features added in.

 

it wouldn't need a reboot, it's already running the NT kernel now. so the only thing separating it from RT is really a different shell. 

 

and WP needs a different shell anyway, so they'd just need to add the code bits from the RT shell to the WP shell for shared app. which is somewhat simpler than you'd think and certainly requires no reboot. 

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