The signs were all pointing to this. Up until now Acer remained one of the few hardware vendors that were still committed to the Windows RT platform, even as other Microsoft partners announced their intentions to scale back on it.
There were rumors that Asus would stop making products based on the ARM version of Windows, but today the company made it official.
Like a few other companies, Asus had recently shifted focus towards devices with Intel Atom processors inside. And now The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Asus has cited the lack of compatibility with legacy Windows applications as one of the main reasons for the poor sales of its Windows RT slate.
The company released only one Windows RT device, the VivoTab RT, which actually launched in October 2012 alongside Microsoft’s very own ARM based device, the Surface RT.
Asus CEO Jerry Shen was quoted as saying:
“It’s not only our opinion, the industry sentiment is also that Windows RT has not been successful.”
The company took a write down charge on sales of the VivoTab RT in its second quarter, though Asus did not disclose a specific number.
With Asus officially out of the Windows RT game, it is possible that other Windows RT tablet makers will follow suit. Many companies, including Lenovo, have begun to release tablets that make use of the latest Intel Atom models.
Microsoft is, obviously, still committed to Windows RT, and the company has reiterated its decision to release new ARM based products. Dell has recently expressed its desire to continue releasing Windows RT devices, and there are rumors that Nokia is developing its very own Windows RT tablet.
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