Umm...read the small print - Windows 8 on ARM won’t run x86 apps |

Umm…read the small print – Windows 8 on ARM won’t run x86 apps

ARM X86

Microsoft has clarified that Windows 8 tablets and notebooks running ARM processors won’t be able to run apps from the x86 (running Intel and AMD CPUs) version of the OS.

Windows president Steven Sinofsky delivered the news during an analyst call this week.

This means that Windows 8 won’t be fully compatible across all tablets and desktops.

This distinction means that Windows 8 tablets running x86 chips will have a leg-up against their ARM slate siblings, since they will allow users to seamlessly jump across tablet and desktop apps.

ARM tablets will unfortunately be limited to what’s available in Microsoft’s App Store.

This is a little bit of an inconsistency when weighed against Microsoft's unified platform strategy and message..

Remains to be seen how much noise will be generated by this revelation...