Microsoft has placed tight limits on how Windows 8 is shown on ARM-based tablets

According to the information shared by the representatives of ARM-chip vendors like Nvidia, Texas Instruments (TI), and Qualcomm, tight limits have been placed by Microsoft in terms of how Windows 8 can be displayed on ARM-based tablets.

An indirect substantiation of the statement can be traced to the fact that even though a handful of prototype ARM-based tablets were showcased at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, there was no opportunity for anyone to actually try out the devices.

While Qualcomm did not display a Windows 8 device at all at the CES, the Nvidia booth had three Windows 8 tablets which were all behind glass, and a Windows 8 tablet was shown by TI in a meeting room off the CES floor.

Going by reports, the three Nvidia tablets exhibited at the show were based on its quad-core Tegra 3 processor; and the TI Windows 8 tablet was powered by its dual-core OMAP 4470 processor.

Despite the fact that the ARM-chip vendors are apparently all satisfied with Windows 8, Microsoft tight limits on the hand-on experience of the platform is an indication that the company does not wish to spoil its reputation with reports of people having some kind of a bad pre-release experience with the software.

Noting that Microsoft "have to get it (Windows 8) right," Nvidia's mobile business unit's general manger Mike Rayfield said: "I think they're being a little measured because they want to make sure that when people finally see these things that it's a good experience."