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Topic: Tech Industry

Nvidia CEO: Windows RT is a keeper

Summary: "If you extrapolate it forward by a few years, it's hard to imagine how Win RT can't possibly, won't possibly be a wonderful PC," says Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. Do you agree?

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is a big believer in Microsoft's Windows RT operating system and can't imagine how it "won't possibly be a wonderful PC."

surface

Rest assured that Huang's take isn't exactly objective. Nvidia is a Microsoft partner on Surface with Windows RT. Nevertheless, Huang talked Android, tablets and noted that Windows RT will be a player.

Also: Nvidia Q4 strong, 4G LTE Tegra chips sampled | Nvidia CEO views wireless chips as future profit driver

Huang likened Windows RT to Android's first tablet foray. At first, Nvidia looked too early and then the bet paid off. Here's a look at Huang's full comments following Nvidia's fourth quarter earnings:

I believe in tablets wholeheartedly. And it's an area, it's a segment of the marketplace that we are going to continue to invest in and be quite successful in. Win RT -- I believe it is essential, strategically essential for Microsoft to be on all of the major processors in the world, surely the highest volume processor in the world, as a software company, and an operating system company. It's a market they can't afford to ignore. And so, Win RT is surely going to be an important area for them.

Now, whether people see Win RT as a consumer tablet or as a PC is yet to be determined. But at the very minimum, if you extrapolate it forward by a few years, it's hard to imagine how Win RT can't possibly, won't possibly be a wonderful PC. We know exactly what it feels like on top of a Tegra 4, and it rocks. It's fantastic. And so, Win RT I think will be successful as well. Microsoft will have no choice but to continue to invest in it, and it's a great company. They will do something great with it.

Huang's comments are notable because you can spin in a circle and find someone who thinks Windows RT will be an orphan. Is Windows RT and orphan in the making or Microsoft's future?

Topics: Tech Industry, Hardware, Microsoft, Operating Systems, Processors, Windows 8

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60 comments
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  • thank you mr huang

    We knew ir already. Only anti Microsoft paid shills say otherwise. They cant stop the surface line even after the greatest FUD campaing in the history of thd world.
    Master Wayne
    Reply 6 Votes

    • Laughable

      "anti Microsoft paid shills"?

      And who exactly would be paying these "anti Microsoft shills".

      And who is organizing "the greatest FUD campaing in the history of thd world."?

      Paranoid conspiracy theorist anyone? You are a joke.

      What I do notice however is a significant number of new posters singing the praises of the Surface Pro. MS did not manage to control the narrative here about the RT, so I guess they are trying even harder with the Pro.

      What was it you said about paid shills again?

      You are just too dumb for words.
      D.T.Long
      Reply 2 Votes

      • I see you as a dump troll...

        Your posts are no better than the other idiot called cloggedbottom...
        Owlll1net
        Reply 8 Votes

        • I do not believe ....

          your opinion matters much. Your history here speaks for itself.
          D.T.Long
          Reply Vote

      • Major difference

        The Pro is a fantastic device because it runs Windows 8, a mature OS. The RT is a piece of crap, because Windows RT is a piece of crap.
        x I'm tc
        Reply Vote

        • You flip burgers for a living?

          Your post supports my theory
          Owlll1net
          Reply 4 Votes

      • I agree

        Just because a person is critical of one OS or another does not make that person a shill. The best available evidence is that 720,000 Surface RT were sold in the first quarter. Compared to other devices, that is pitifully low. That does not mean that RT is a bad device (nor a good device). It might simply mean that sales are low.
        Restricted_access
        Reply Vote

        • irrelevant

          Surface is happening whether you like it or not. Its that simple
          Master Wayne
          Reply 1 Vote

  • Why even ask that question, just scan over the other blogs

    to find out. The usual suspect(s) will just spam with the usual hate (KIN, market cap, "real life" experiences, magical alternatives), while others will offer some honest assesment and discussions having used it.

    Sadly that first group tends to be more vocal, drowing out any honest opinions.

    Me, I think it really does have a good future simply because its an ARM based OS, and a good one at that. If more people opt for ARM based devices over x86, then MS has both bases covered, and can design for all, which is where we all want to be anyhow, right?
    William Farrel
    Reply 5 Votes

    • I'm for orphan

      Thing about RT is that there is really no reason to "pick ARM" for a windows machine. The battery life difference vs a comparable atom tablet is only ~5% and it will get narrower with time.

      Trading backwards compatibility and versatility for a 5% and shrinking battery life advantage doesn't sound all that appealing.
      SlithyTove
      Reply 2 Votes

      • That's a good point

        If they could get a Surface Pro tablet to the size and cost of an RT tablet, then I'd agree and say that RT is gone, but no ones quite there yet.

        Also limiting what can run on the OS would also extend battery life. I'm curious as to how heavy CPU programs impact Surface Pro battery time.
        William Farrel
        Reply 4 Votes

        • That is only looking at the Surface

          The Surface Pro isn't at all comparable to the RT tablet. Its a much more powerful system.

          The best comparison are the two Dell tablets. If you look at the x86 and RT Dell 10" tablets their specs/weight/size/battery life are virtually identical.
          SlithyTove
          Reply 1 Vote

      • Actually

        I see the battery advantage getting better, when the RT actually gets to use the power saving core of the Tegra. As of now, it apparently can't.
        Michael Alan Goff
        Reply 3 Votes

        • I haven't heard of that

          "when the RT actually gets to use the power saving core of the Tegra. As of now, it apparently can't"

          What would stop RT from using it now?
          William Farrel
          Reply 2 Votes

          • Re: What would stop RT from using it now?

            Tegra has heterogenous cores (4 regular cores + 1 low-power core). The Windows NT kernel doesn't support heterogeneous cores, only the Linux kernel in Android can manage that.
            ldo17
            Reply Vote

        • Short term maybe

          That tweak may help in the short term.

          But, for all practical purposes, Intel has ALREADY caught up in the power race.

          http://www.anandtech.com/show/6529/busting-the-x86-power-myth-indepth-clover-trail-power-analysis

          Essentially, the Atom has a more efficient, faster CPU, and the Tegra3 has a faster, but slightly less efficient GPU. The Tegra3's advantage is basically 3D gaming not battery life.

          And Intel is really only getting started at very low power chips. ARM has been at it a while. Over time, even if ARM can hold the power lead, the difference will be pretty small relative to battery life.

          As CPU/GPU power reqs lower compared to other components that power difference will also mean less. Battery life will not remain a key differentiator for ARM.
          SlithyTove
          Reply 1 Vote

    • Doh!

      William Farrel wrote:
      "I think it [Windows RT] really does have a good future simply because its an ARM based

      HP's TouchPad used the Snapdragon SoC which was ARM-based. Where is the TouchPad today?
      Rabid Howler Monkey
      Reply Vote

      • Dead because of corporate stupidity, not due to any technical issue

        Seriously, look at HP right now. They can't be mistaken for an intelligently run company at the moment.
        William Farrel
        Reply 3 Votes

        • Corporate stupidity

          You mean like pricing the Microsoft Surface RT and OEMs Windows RT-based tablets WAY too high?
          Rabid Howler Monkey
          Reply Vote

          • I think the right spot would have been 399, IMHO

            but I'm not sure of what it cost to build the first gen device, given NRE and what have you.

            That still doesn't excuse HP from making too many poor decisions, Touchpad included.
            William Farrel
            Reply 2 Votes
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