Microsoft Reveals Windows/ARM Details

By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 2/10/2012

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft's continuing effort to bull its way into the tablet PC space took a step forward today with the software maker announcing Windows on ARM (WOA).

Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live division, called WOA the latest addition to the Windows family, ranking it with Windows Server and Windows Phone. Sinofsky used his blog to announce the news.

WOA will allow the upcoming Windows 8 operating system to work with the ARM-based processors by Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm. WOA is also fully compatible with the ultra-low-voltage processors being developed by Intel for the tablet space.

The first WOA-equipped, ARM-based devices would be expected to ship at the same time other Windows 8 computers. Microsoft has still not named an official Windows 8 launch date, but the consumer beta release for the OS on the x86/64 platform will be available for download by the end of February.

Sinofsky said using WOA will have the feel as using Windows 8 on a full-fledged PC. The user interface will start and apps will launch the same way.

"WOA can support all new Metro style apps, including apps from Microsoft for mail, calendaring, contacts, photos, and storage. WOA also includes industry-leading support for hardware-accelerated HTML5 with Internet Explorer 10," he said.

WOA will support several Office applications that have been revamped for an ARM environment. The applications, code-named Office 15, included Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.