HP drops ARM after MS Surface release

The Economic Times reports.

HP instead will focus on so-called x86 chips, such as those made by Intel, said Marlene Somsak, a spokeswoman for the Palo Alto, California-based company. The decision is a boon for Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, the top makers of x86 chips.

It marks a setback for ARM, which, from the outset, won't have its technology in Windows tablets sold by the largest maker of personal computers.

Bloomberg quotes Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, as saying: “For them to say they're skipping this is a big deal. If they can't get HP on board, that's pretty indicative of the fact that things are different and the old loyal partners can't always be depended on.”

Microsoft plans to release its own ARM-based tablet, lessening the impact of losing HP as a maker of the devices.

The decision “was influenced by input from our customers”, Somsak wrote in an e-mail. “The robust and established ecosystem of x86 applications provides the best customer experience at this time and in the immediate future.”

HP has previously released Windows 7 tablets, including the Slate and the company's only foray into ARM tablets - the TouchPad - ended even more disastrously, with the company slashing the price of the Palm devices six weeks after launch before dropping the tablet altogether, PC Pro says.

However, HP's view that the x86 version is better for businesses echoes Microsoft's own delineation between the x86 and ARM variants of Windows 8 and its own-brand Surface tablets.

Its ARM-based Surface for Windows RT will only run Metro-style apps and features a Home and Student version of Office, while the x86 Surface for Windows Pro will feature the entire desktop - and be more expensive, priced to compete with ultrabooks.