Windows on ARM

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.

It’s the weekend. What better time to pour a glass of wine, put your feet up and settle back with… a 9,000-word blog post about the future of Windows?

Not this post (which comes in at a mere 300 words) – this one, from Steven Sinofsky, which lays out Microsoft’s plans for bringing Windows to ARM-based mobile devices. But don’t worry: there’s no reason to read the whole thing to see why it’s got Microsoft-watchers buzzing.

Thursday’s post from Sinofsky, head of the Windows division, is the clearest indication yet of Microsoft’s determination to give an early push to its new ARM platform. Two things in particular stand out:

Simultaneous launch. Windows 8 on ARM will debut at the same time as the version for Intel’s x86 architecture. This should put to rest nagging questions about whether Windows will really be ready this year for the most power-efficient mobile devices.

Bundled with Office. The new ARM machines will come bundled with a a touch-enabled version of Office. Microsoft is making a clear declaration of the immediate value it hopes to bring to traditional PC users from adopting this new platform: all of your old documents will be able to follow you onto this new generation of devices.

There’s plenty more in those 9,000 words to put weight behind Microsoft’s seriousness about ARM. But to judge by the generally appreciative response to the main headlines (analysts at IDC said the significance of the news to the coming evolution of Windows “can’t be overstated”), this was something with which to be going on.