ARM, whose chip designs power most smartphones, expects its processors to account for as much as 20% of those used in notebook computers by 2015, boosted by the release of Microsoft's Windows 8 software.

Nokia has posted an operating loss of US$1.25 billion in the fourth quarter as unexpectedly high Windows Phone sales and a US$250 million payment from Microsoft weren't enough to compensate for worse than anticipated declines in the company's legacy smartphone lines.

Windows 8 is stable on the ARM chip platform and will be seeded to developers soon, sources told CNET. Devices may be priced significantly less than their Intel counterparts, too.

Gold's skepticism arises from the lack of backwards software compatibility on the platform and said the danger is that if the market doesn't quickly take up Windows on ARM, Microsoft will stop spending resources on it, as has been the case with other platforms beforehand.

Nokia is planning to launch a Windows-running tablet during the summer of 2012, the head of Nokia France said in an interview with a French newspaper.

Sometime in 1998 or 1999, Internet Explorer (IE) became the number one Web browser in the world. In October 2011, according to NetMarketShare, IE is barely above the 50% mark of desktop browsers with 52.63%.

The Lumia 800 and the Lumia 710 mark the begin of Nokia's fightback against Apple's iPhone and rivals using Google's Android software.

All in all, it was a strong quarter for the company. Enterprise and business sales are growing vigorously, and new products such as Office 365 and Lync appear to be gaining traction in the market. Perhaps the biggest concern is the performance of the Windows division, and the "cannibalization" of netbook sales.

Nokia plans to launch "new devices running Windows Phone" next week at Nokia World, marking the debut of the first Windows Phone 7 handsets produced by Nokia under its partnership with Microsoft, said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

Change is good, says Microsoft, especially when it comes to the Windows Start Menu.

The beauty of these system-on-chip architectures is that they can be placed in very tight spaces. This obviously impacts case designs.

Microsoft is realizing that the "feel" of touch to the user is more important than simple hardware performance. It's also testing manufacturers' bezel designs, graphics setups and screen cover glass in an attempt to make Windows 8 "feel right."

Microsoft has laid out a wide-ranging plan to overhaul its Windows software platform, marking an attempt to stem the erosion of its core PC software business amid the rise of touchscreen computing popularised by Apple.

A lawsuit alleges the the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 operating system tracks users' location without permission.