Windows 8 Joining on ARM , Prepares to Power Cheap Ultra-Thin Laptops

January 31, 2012

batteryfast.co.uk

Windows 8 Joining on ARM , Prepares to Power Cheap Ultra-Thin Laptops Windows 8 Joining on ARM , Prepares to Power Cheap Ultra-Thin Laptops

http://www.batteryfast.co.uk/battery-technology/windows-8-joining-on-arm-prepares-to-power-cheap-ultra-thin-laptops/

CloudTags: Windows 8 , ARM , ultra-thin , laptops , Power , Acer as07b41 , Hp pavilion dv6 batteries , Acer aspire 5920

One of the biggest new additions to Windows 8 that we knew about early on is that it was moving beyond the x86 processors from Intel and AMD. Joining the party is ARM, whose chip architecture powers a staggering number of mobile phones, tablets, media players, plug computers, energy-efficient servers, and set top boxes. Microsoft has already shown off Windows 8 on ARM a few times, but now they’re ready to take the next step and release a developer preview. Up until now we’ve been limited to an x86 or x64Windows 8 download. Now, however, the ARM version has progressed to the point where it’s stable enough to get it into developers’ hands.

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There’s been speculation before that the final release of Windows 8 for the different architectures would be staggered — x86 and x64 arriving first and ARM arriving later on. It’s at least four months behind as far as public previews go, but ARM is a totally new gambit for Microsoft. It’s possible that the folks in Redmond just wanted to make sure that the ARM build was a little bit more polished and cameraready before handing it out, and that both versions will launch at the same time. Regardless of when it hits, there’s one foregone conclusion about Windows 8 and ARM: systems built using this pairing could cost hundreds of dollars less than their Intel counterparts. Ultrabooks in particular will come under fire as ultra-thin ARM laptops arrive with Windows 8 on board. The modus operandi of an Ultrabook is to be thin, light, powerful, and provide plenty of battery life. ARM’s processors are renowned for their efficiency, and with the recent arrival of quad-core chips that push speeds up to 2.5GHz, they should provide plenty of processing muscle for Windows 8 users. The sticky wicket, of course, is legacy applications. An Intel or AMD powered Windows 8 system will be able to run any of the millions of x86 or x64 apps that already exist for Windows 7 (and previous versions). Windows 8 on ARM won’t ship with the ability to run that code, however, so apps will need to be re-compiled. For consumers who are after a bargain-priced Windows 8 tablet or laptop, however, ARM models

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January 31, 2012

batteryfast.co.uk

Windows 8 Joining on ARM , Prepares to Power Cheap Ultra-Thin Laptops

should be an extremely attractive option. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll still have access to plenty of apps in the Windows Store, after all.