Report: Windows RT to Remain Limited to Select OEMs Until January

Posted 07/25/2012 at 5:02am | by Pulkit Chandna

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In recent times, we’ve become quite used to a steady stream of Windows 8 news, but the same can not be said to be true of Windows RT. Details of this ARM-friendly version of Windows have been few and far between. But then that’s what the rumor mill is for, isn’t it? According to an unconfirmed report by the Taiwan-based China Times, Microsoft is tightly controlling the development of Windows RT devices, so much so that at the moment it’s only allowing a handful of OEMs near this stripped-down, ARM-compatible version of Windows.

If the report is to be believed, the products that make up the first wave of Windows RT tablets will all be from a handful of top-tier vendors handpicked by chip makers NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. Apparently, each chip maker was asked to partner with a maximum of two device makers for the development of Windows RT. This reportedly led to NVIDIA pairing up with Asus and Lenovo; TI with Toshiba; and Qualcomm with Samsung and HP. But with HP deciding to go with x86 for its first Windows 8 tablet, Qualcomm is said to have brought in Dell to replace HP.

The report further claims that this restriction is only for the first wave of Windows RT tablets and the platform will be open to all other OEMs come January.