It served them and us well – allowing hardware and software standards to be set and economies of scale harnessed.

The paradigm has rapidly changed. Out of the left field has come a very dominant operating system (OS) – Android – running mainly on ARM based mobile devices.

In the right corner – some say well backed into that corner - is Windows running on Intel and AMD x86 based notebooks, premium tablets, desktops, corporate workstations, and servers. Every Android/ARM unit sold is a mortal wound in Wintel’s dominance and profitability.

Not ignoring Apple and iOS but it has its own path to tread.

For Intel and AMD to abandon Windows would be unthinkable and unnecessary. But, the time has come for Intel to come out of the closet and swing each way.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich used his Consumer Electronics Show keynote to flag its dual-OS strategy. Using a new system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture – based on Bay Trail or Core processors – users can now move from one OS to another on the same device with a button push.

Krzanich demonstrated the new dual-OS on a new US$599, Asus Transformer Book Duet. "There are times you want Windows, there are times you want Android. Users want more choice - Windows for some uses, Android for others. … Intel SoCs are the only ones that can offer the capability to seamlessly switch between OSs,” he said.

Android devices - still very much consumer tech - are increasingly used as bring-your-own-devices (BYOD). IT departments have strong and justifiable concerns about security and compliance in enterprise use. Intel's security unit - formerly McAfee - will release Intel Device Protection technology enabling Android devices powered by Intel chips to meet most security standards both at home and work - although we are yet to see a final product to test efficacy.

AMDs response

AMD has taken a different course leveraging its collaboration with BlueStacks to bring the Android operating environment to Windows-based tablets, two-in-one devices, notebooks, and desktops. Like Intel it is developing fourth-generation accelerated processing units (APUs), including the upcoming ‘Kaveri’ A10 - 7860K and 7700K chips. These APU’s combine processing and graphics into a Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) that provides parallel computation.

A new version of BlueStacks runs on a Windows PC powered by fourth generation AMD APUs offers:

• A familiar Android user interface, including settings, configuration and customization controls
• The ability to run Android apps within a window or at full-screen resolution leveraging direct access to AMD graphics processing power
• Support for hundreds of thousands of Android apps direct from various Android app stores, as well as synchronization between the same apps being run on the user’s stand-alone Android devices
• Seamless interoperability through direct file sharing that enables Android apps to access files stored within the Windows file system.

“We’re working with AMD to build the next great PC and AMD’s industry-leading hardware allows for a more flexible experience with Android apps on the PC for end-users,” said BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma.

“AMD is simply giving users want they want,” says Clarice Simmons, senior marketing manager at AMD.

Opinion

Android – as a smartphone and tablet OS – has about 80% market share of these devices.

Windows – as a full fat OS – has more than 90% combined of notebooks, professional tablets, desktops, and about 50% of servers.

These percentages will not substantially change soon. What will change is that new form factors like tablets, and all in ones will gradually replace PC desktops – cannibalisation of the form factor – not Windows.

Just because a chip can run different OS does not mean users will do so with abandon - they will vote with the aforementioned button!

Interesting times - it is nice to have choice. Intel and AMD have probably arrested their declining processor market share quite well – they now offer what ARM only devices cannot.

To use a French term touché - or a tennis analogy ‘Game, set and match x86’.