Microsoft becomes official ARM licensee, could an MS microprocessor be next?
By Tim Stevens 
posted July 23rd 2010 6:53AM
posted July 23rd 2010 6:53AM
ARM processors are so hot right now, especially in the mobile space, where they power many of the greatest smartphones, tablets, and mobile devices coming down the turnpike. Microsoft is apparently looking to merge in on that action, becoming an official ARM licensee. It's unclear exactly what MS will be doing with its new found technical rights, but General Manager KD Hallman said "With closer access to the ARM technology we will be able to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products." This likely means Microsoft will be better optimizing Windows Embedded and Windows Phone for the processor architecture, but also opens the door for Ballmer & Co. to create their own magical microprocessor and, ultimately, use it to rule the world with an iron fist. Terms of the agreement were not given, but hopefully nobody in Redmond had to lose any appendages to seal the deal. Microsoft Licenses ARM Architecture
ARM and Microsoft Continue Relationship With Closer Access to ARM IP
CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ARM and Microsoft Corp. today announced that they have signed a new licensing agreement for the ARM® architecture. The agreement extends the collaborative relationship between the two companies. Since 1997 Microsoft and ARM have worked together on software and devices across the embedded, consumer and mobile spaces, enabling many companies to deliver user experiences on a broad portfolio of ARM-based products.
"With closer access to the ARM technology we will be able to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products."
"Microsoft is an important member of the ARM ecosystem, and has been for many years," said Mike Muller, CTO ARM. "With this architecture license, Microsoft will be at the forefront of applying and working with ARM technology in concert with a broad range of businesses addressing multiple application areas."
"ARM is an important partner for Microsoft and we deliver multiple operating systems on the company's architecture, most notably Windows Embedded and Windows Phone," said KD Hallman, general manager, Microsoft. "With closer access to the ARM technology we will be able to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products."
ARM licenses processor IP under a flexible licensing model, enabling highly integrated solutions for a variety of applications ranging from mobile devices to home electronics and industrial products. ARM customers can license the ARM architecture or specific processor implementations.
Details of the agreement will remain confidential.
Intel is looking to jump in too. 2011 will be awesome.
@cdf74dc9
R&D win
@cdf74dc9
Oh sweet jebus please no. We know the scene: Microsoft offers tools to develop on Windows for platformX, Microsoft builds own platformY, Microsoft pulls support and/or cripples api for platformX.
Go monopoly.
@cdf74dc9
Xbox Portable.
@cdf74dc9 maybe we'll actually see some windows phone hardware come out of microsoft in the form of a zune phone perhaps. i wish they'd understand that we'd love them forever if they just released zune hardware with a larger screen WP7 inside with their own 1 GHz processor
@ChronoSapien
ummmmm, every windows phone 7 device is a zune
i think he means more like how the iPod Touch is to the iPhone. i kinda assumed they would do that from the start but it hasnt happened yet.
@Ginormous i know but i meant its hardware, i.e. the looks of the zune hd
@ChronoSapien
my mistake, but I guess that would require microsoft to manufacture the hardware and risk being apple 1.5
@canny
Go Go Microsoft Shill Down-Rank!
probably something for courier.....
@mocax I'd say something for Windows Embedded Compact 7
@mocax At this point give it a rest people.
@mocax We see something about wp7 everyday but its probably for courier
@arash
I want a super phone!
@mocax
The licence is for manufacturing data. Could be something to do with next gen Xbox? Obviously not for main CPU but could make a great support chip.
@Jimbob, low powered DVR built in. :D
It is probably for Windows Embedded.
@Walker
Re: "At this point give it a rest people."
THIS! IS! COURIER!
(kicks you into a bottomless pit)
Well, on ARM and embedded platforms generally Linux rules. Partly because it is opensource (it matters a lot in embedded), partly because it is free. M$ wants to geta a foot in the door, but I would never put software which code I do not know on my embedded device, especially if it is mission-critical piece of equipment and I would be liable in case something would go wrong.
@stoffer: Do you not think that it's now a little (or rather a lot) outdated to refer to Microsoft as M$? When people do that, I have a tendency to automatically classify their reasoning as flawed, since they're always looking at a situation from a skewed/biased/negative perspective.
@stoffer
You're missing the point entirely. It's a phone, a consumer device, not some...industrial saw that would cripple somebody. Whatever linux does or doesn't in ARM architectures has really no consequence to MS mobile computing plans. Their WP7 OS runs on ARM chips contrary to the false preception of many that somehow microsoft can't compile code for anything other than intel. The underlying OS and kernel is all coded in C/C++ and that language is not chip/architecture specific. They can pretty much make it run in anything linux can.
@LSE
That is simply not true, there is much more to it than just having a compiler that can output binaries for a specific architecture. There's many more parts in any computer system besides the CPU, and Linux as of yet pretty much covers anything in existence, compared to Windows Embedded which only runs on a few very specific platforms. There's a reason Windows on embedded can't hold a candle to Linux in terms of the number of embedded applications.
@stoffer the law of tort liability may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it cannot be the general case that you are "liable in case something would go wrong" just because one has purchased a device with an embedded OS to which one did not have the code (your car, you microwave, etc.). One might be liable in contract, if one has signed a contract assuming liability in this manner. But that would be a silly risk to undertake.
@drange For CE/Embedded, you get full platform source code. Almost all hardware manufacturers have BSPs/drivers for CE. There's not much you can do with Linux that you can't do with CE, and CE has a hell of a lot more support than Linux does.
@l3v5y
You get source code for the platforms it supports, which is only a tiny subset of platforms compared to the platforms that Linux runs on. We're not talking about drivers here, but the kernel subsystems that these drivers are build on top of, and linux has many more of them. Maybe you should check out the linux kernel sources some time, it has support for platforms you haven't ever heard of. Why do you even doubt this, seeing that Linux runs on everything from supercomputers down to 4-bit microcontrollers, from the latest and greatest hardware to 70's mainframes. Linux literally runs on about everything that has a CPU and memory.
As for support, I think you're also missing the point. Windows CE/Embedded has better *vendor* support, but that's not all there is to it. Millions of people are making a living providing support on specialized linux systems and/or distro's, and community support is also excellent.
@stoffer it was nothing but.fanboys and the uninitiated downranking you. Whoever said there is more support for CE than Linux is crazy. Linux is all over the embedded scene. And it doesn't need to be a remote saw to need to.be stable. Do you want an unstable phone that may not get your calls. Not saying CE is that bad but to say a phone doesn't need to be stable is ridiculous.
MS simply realizes that the market is not going to.be all Intel all the time now and the market for OS is larger than just desktops and laptops now.
@Blaque14K Wow. I am impressed. One person got my point, which is exactly that the future does not seem to be all intel and MS want's to get a foot in the door on the competitive hardware.
@meeku since when Microsoft became everyone's underdog? Apple being more like MS (or worse, as some claim, although its a subject to discuss) does not make MS look good.
all the wm7 phones will pretty much be based on arm equipped hw, becoming a licensee is just logical, if not for anything else to get better support, for tweaking the compilers, their vm's etc. it's not like they're short on cash.
@glassfin Thats exacty what I'm thinking. Just use it to tweak the O/S. Maybe down the line they could develop their own chip but would be years before that happens. It's not like they have an army of enginners or experience in the field, but could be quite profitable for them if they choose to go down that route.
It would be interesting to see a smartphone from microsoft. Something along the lines of the zune HD but in a phone form factor and features. Something that would push the bread and butter manufacturers to do better and accomplish what google and their deceased Nexus couldn't.
Xboy!
Just hope it doesn't 3RROD like the last one they made...
@longcat
have you seen a zune RROD?
@longcat Isn't that on PowerPC?
@arash It's in Microsoft hardware design is where it is.
Smartphone World War.. As good as it get!!!
@Tim Stevens can you change "an" in the title to "a"
Thanks
@Cobra4455 Nope, sorry. Just say "an emm ess" in your head and it'll sound right as rain.
@TimStevens
Lmao, whatever, you just keep doin' your thing.
@Cobra4455 Thanks, I totally will!
@TimStevens Tim is of course correct if he said "An Microsoft" that would be incorrect but abbreviated letters are treated like vowels.
Well done Engadget finally the power of grammar is on your side.
"...Ballmer & Co. to create their own magical microprocessor..."
Did I discern malice and hostility in that statement? Engadget, can't just pretend you are independent? Do you really hate that much? This is ridiculous!
@Infinity If anything that's a stab at Apple and its constant hyperbole. What's the issue there?
@Infinity I bet the same thought has crossed the minds of people over at MS: "Lets create our OWN magical processor". I found it quite amusing and you should lighten up a bit, it won't hurt you.
Kinect Vol 2
clearly this is the next big step. now microsoft can finally embed the security holes in even lower levels of their devices.
clearly this is the next big step. now microsoft can finally embed the security holes on even lower levels of their devices.
@CrackRocks Must suck to be in that 5% of the world that always is looking up at the big companies that did things with personal computers and pushed the markets instead of being spoonfed how-to use them, what you can put on them and when you'll upgrade them. Isn't it time for zombie stevie to throw a dart at the board and see what processor goes into your boxes next year? Probably dumpster dive as it is for intel/nvidia leftovers. "Hey boss we screwd up another couple hundred platters of chips that were going to dell. Ahh no worries Apple will buy them and charge 3x's the cost."
But hey they are nice and shiny boxes.
@Amusednow you mad?