Prime Chipset and Windows 8

[NismoZ]

Will we be able to dual boot the Prime with Windows 8? Does Windows 8 work witrh ARM technology? And if it will, would office and regular apps work with ARM technology?

 

[Rastor]

Yes, Windows 8 will have an ARM version.
No, the Prime will probably not be able to boot it (because it has an Android bootloader / ROM instead of a PC one).
No, Microsoft has said not to expect Office and other regular apps to work on ARM Windows 8. Only Windows 8 "Metro style" apps should be expected to work.

However there are several Office apps for Android...

 

[zedorda]

Asus will release a Windows 8 version of the Prime about 1-3 months after the first. The first version will not run Windows 8 without third-party dev work.

 

[d1ez3]

Asus will release a Windows 8 version of the Prime about 1-3 months after the first. The first version will not run Windows 8 without third-party dev work.

I have a feeling there will be some 3rd party dev support on this tablet, with the motivation of windows/android both on one device. But we will see how it works out...

 

[TPwebOS820]

Yes, Windows 8 will have an ARM version.
No, Microsoft has said not to expect Office and other regular apps to work on ARM Windows 8. Only Windows 8 "Metro style" apps should be expected to work.

At CES MS demoed Win8 on ARM running Word & Power Point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRPh4kJpeSA
~1:10 into the video

I have yet to see anywhere official where MS says Win8 will NOT support legacy apps on ARM, though I haven't seen them say if apps will need to be recompiled or Windows will handle it via an emulator or what--maybe they are still working on all of that.

Nonetheless, I would fully expect all MS software to be compatible with Win8 on ARM.

 

[Rastor]

At CES MS demoed Win8 on ARM running Word & Power Point.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRPh4kJpeSA

Yes, but then at BUILD they said it was only a "technology demonstration", that the ARM version of Windows will only run "metro style" applications, not desktop apps like Office.
Microsoft planning to market Windows 8 ARM in a unique way, different naming? | WinRumors

Now, it's possible of course that Microsoft could release "metro style" Office for both ARM and x86. It would look and work differently from Office as it is currently known.

 

[Adiliyo]

the next version of office (due next year) will run on both x86 and arm architecture.

legacy apps won't work on ARM (duh) since they are designed to run on x86 architecture, msft has stated that it's up to the developers to recompile them to make them compatible.

 

[Rastor]

It's not just a recompile though. Creating a "metro style" app requires using a whole different set of APIs and development methods.

Current indications are that Microsoft won't even try shipping Windows 8 on ARM until the middle of 2013.