The next version of Windows will be able to run on ARM processors, said Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) mid-week at CES 2011. Any effort to port the Windows operating system to the ARM architecture would be substantial however, and it is likely that existing applications and device drivers will have to be rewritten in the case of the latter, or tweaked and recompiled for the former. As part of a demonstration, Microsoft also showed off a rewritten version of Microsoft Word running on ARM chips from Qualcomm, nVidia and Texas Instruments prior to the announcement.

This move by the Redmond-based software giant is likely due to frustration over the relative power efficiency of Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) Atom processors over competing chips that run on the ARM platform; some reports pegged the power consumption of the Atom to be four times higher. Competing platforms such as Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android and Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iOS, on the other hand, tend to run on advanced ARM processors such as the Tegra chip from nVidia, or the Snapdragon from Qualcomm. These chips incorporate sophisticated graphics capabilities, or on-chip support for a large number of capabilities that serves to eliminate the need for additional power sapping components.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Guardian
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at Computerworld Blogs

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