14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like the dealings between Microsoft and ARM may have just evolved into something more complex, as a recent report says that the two are collaborating on hardware and not just Windows 8 support.
If one were to hear about a collaboration between Intel and ARM, there would probably be widespread shock.
ARM working with Microsoft, by comparison, is a far less unexpected development, especially with how things have been going on the IT market recently.
With Windows 7 being unsuited for tablets, and ARM set to account for a fair portion of all slate platforms, Microsoft, some time ago (January 2011), decided to make sure Windows 8 supported the architecture.
Now, it is reported that the two might actually be thinking of collaborating on projects beside this one. In fact, it is implied that software is not the only thing they have in mind.
To be more specific, the rumor is that ARM and Microsoft want to develop processor architectures.
If Microsoft was a chip developer, this would have likely sparked much speculation at what sort of new and massively improved chip design would be spawned.
As it is, however, the highest likelihood is that the two will be more focused on making ARM chips better at tacking advantage of Windows features and allocating resources effectively and easily.
On the other hand, back in July 2010, the two did sign a licensing agreement that gave Microsoft access to ARM's full IP portfolio, meaning that the former has all it needs to build a chip of its own.
Nevertheless, no official plans of this kind have ever been outlined and the outfit would probably have difficulty entering a market already defined by an Intel-ARM rivalry.
Either way, the two will likely try to make sure ARM chips get more features while somehow sticking to the power efficiency advantage they have over x86 units from Intel and AMD.