Will Microsoft merge Windows RT into Windows Blue?

Here we go again! It seems every month since its release last October some tech publication has proffered the same question, “Is Windows RT dead?” Some have not been as blunt in their inquiries, but their questions were just variants on the same theme. But DigiTimes, a Taipei-based news site, has gone a step further.

“Microsoft to merge Windows RT into next generation Windows OS” a DigitTmes headline published yesterday boldly proclaimed. In other words, Windows RT…is dead. One would think that such a proclamation had a real foundation. Like a Microsoft spokesperson spilling the beans in an interview for example.

But, no such luck. What we have are “sources from the upstream supply chain”. I’m picturing guys in trench coats wearing fedoras and dark sunglasses, but I could be wrong. None-the-less, according to these sources, Microsoft will no longer launch products under its Windows RT line, but instead, merge Windows RT into its next generation OS, codename “Blue”.

Quoting these sources DigiTimes reports:

“Although the PC supply chain had pushed the Windows on ARM (WoA) platform aggressively, the Windows RT’s name, which has misled most consumers into believing that the operating system is able to support all existing x86 Windows programs, the lack of apps, as well as compatibility issues have all significantly damaged demand.”

While it is true that some PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard have responded negatively to Windows RT, and that Samsung has shelved plans to release a Windows RT device in the United States, Microsoft corporate vice president, Michael Angiulo, in an interview with CNet last week defended the platform, and says Microsoft has good reason to stick with it.

Many expect that in June, Microsoft will formally introduce its next generation OS at the Microsoft Build Developer Conference in San Francisco. It will be interesting to see which source is the most credible.