Even though ARM is now supported by Windows, Intel says it isn't concerned

Oct 26, 2012 09:42 GMT  ·  By

It was obvious that Microsoft's release of the Windows 8 OS, and its ARM-supporting version Windows RT, would mark a new age on the PC and consumer electronics market. Intel doesn't feel the same though.

We don't really need to say that ARM is, for the first time, in a position from which it can seriously hamper Intel's activities on the IT market. Analysts have been doing it in our stead.

Intel continues to think it does not have anything to worry about though. In an interview with AllThingsD, it said so clearly.

The company doesn't seem to mind that it is basically denying everything the rest of the IT industry and analyst community has been saying for the past two years.

Its main argument is that the x86 architecture has always been designed for hardware and software compatibility, unlike ARM, which sacrificed functionality in favor of efficiency.

Intel-based Windows 8 machines will run all the software and Web sites written for past versions of Windows. That will not be as true on the RT [devices]. I am not sure that iTunes runs. I am not sure that Quicken runs,” said Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel, in the aforementioned interview.

Intel does have a point, but it is not a very strong one. If AMD, with some help, has been able to create a program that lets Android apps run on Windows, the opposite can be achieved as well.

There is also no question as to whether or not applications will be developed for Windows RT. Now that Microsoft has given the go, things can only move forward, unless something really does happen and ARM somehow meets the same fate as Transmeta (Bankruptcy) or VIA Technologies (it is now a minor provider of embedded CPUs).

I happen to be around long enough to remember those guys. People come and go, and we have never had an exclusive, if you will. And, overall, the best chip has won,” Mr. Otellini said, comparing ARM to the two.

ARM practically owns the mobile market, so it isn't likely to die any time soon. Coupled with the steady progress on the server front, these activities make Intel's words seem even more strange.