14 DAY TRIAL // As the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview approaches, Microsoft is offering more details on the upcoming Windows on ARM, or WOA.
This is the latest member of the Windows family, Microsoft says, and it will be treated as such, which means access to the features and capabilities that Windows 8 will have to offer on x86/64 devices.
This includes a desktop mode, where users can enjoy applications the same as on older versions of the Windows.
Moreover, Windows on ARM will also offer access to the Windows Store, and to all applications that will be made available for Windows 8 users through it.
WOA will be able to provide users with an “out of the box” feel, similar to the one in x86/64 Windows 8. The Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer 10 for the desktop and other desktop features will be there for WOA users to enjoy.
“You will sign on the same way. You will start and launch apps the same way," Scott Seiber, principal program manager, Windows Planning and PC Ecosystem Team, explains in the video embedded below.
You will use the new Windows Store the same way. You will have access to the intrinsic capabilities of Windows, from the new Start screen and Metro style apps, to peripherals.
“All Metro style apps in the Windows Store work on both WOA and x86/64 Windows 8. WOA provides Metro style apps from PC to cloud with apps from Microsoft that support mail, calendaring, contacts, photos, and storage.“
Additionally, Microsoft explains that Windows on ARM will also offer support hardware accelerated HTML5 with Internet Explorer 10. Moreover, users will have the desktop versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote available on Windows on ARM.
What Microsoft didn’t say is whether ARM devices running under Windows 8 would benefit from support for applications that had already been developed for x86/64 Windows – these apps will be available for the x86/64 flavor of Windows 8.
The first ARM-based devices to run under Windows 8 are expected to become available for purchase around the same time as PCs designed for x86/64 and Windows 8 are released.
“Microsoft and ARM partners will be making available a limited number of test devices to developers in a closed, invitation only program. These are not samples or hints of forthcoming devices, but tools for hardware and software engineers,” Scott Seiber concludes.
These devices will emerge at the end of this month, when the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (the beta flavor of Windows 8 for x86/64) is released for the public.
Currently, you can download the Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 M3.
