Microsoft’s kept a close watch on the release of the Windows Phone devices we’ve seen so far, and now that the company is expanding its mobile presence with the release of Windows RT for tablets, there have been signs that it will continue that same sort of oversight and control over how the market develops. Just a little earlier this year, in fact, we heard reports that Microsoft was denying HTC the opportunity to get involved with the first generation of Windows RT models, citing concerns with the company’s tablet experience. If HTC’s out, who’s in? We’ve heard plenty of talk from manufacturers about their interest in WinRT, but now a new rumor attempts to pare that list down to just those OEMs that have gotten the go-ahead to release WinRT tablets this year.
Supposedly, the way this will work is that each fabricator of ARM-based SoCs will pair up with a different manufacturer or two. According to a report in the Chinese Economic Times, we’ll see NVIDIA chips in tablets from Lenovo and ASUS, and TI OMAPs in Toshiba devices. Both Samsung and HP were reportedly going to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragons in their models, but Dell might end up taking HP’s spot.
Following the holiday season, Microsoft is expected to ease-off these restrictions, and allow more manufacturers to begin working with Windows RT. That could mean a chance for HTC, if the company is still interested, as well as devices from the likes of Acer.
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