It would be no small exaggeration to say that Windows 8 hasn’t exactly had the smoothest start off the blocks, and most recently, Asus’ Jonney Shih weighed in on the cut down version of the OS, Windows RT as well.

For the uninitiated, Windows RT, which to all extents and purposes is ‘Windows 8 Lite’, runs on ARM processors. Whereas devices sporting Windows 8 could accommodate all Windows x86 programmes, of which a formidable library exist, the same could not be said of Windows RT, as it was limited to new Windows 8 apps.

In a frank interview (as it usually tends to be with Shih) with AllThingsD, the company’s chairman is quoted as noting that products built on the Windows RT platform have “not been very promising.” Considering the fact that Asus built some of the better Windows RT based offerings, such as the VivoTab RT (review), this is not a small consideration. According to the interview though, Shih and Asus are apparently now turning their attentions to and focusing on devices that carry Intel chips.

Missed starts and second tries

Additionally, bringing yet another voice objecting to the abandonment of the Windows 8 Start menu, Shih added that this was a mistake on Microsoft’s part. He pointed out that a particularly popular app for Windows 8 was one that brings the Start menu back to the OS. This is something that Microsoft has apparently noticed too; the imminent Windows 8.1 apparently adds that functionality back into Windows 8 without having to turn to a third party.

All of this being said though, Asus is not turning its back on Windows. Indeed, its recently unveiled Transformer Book Trio dishes up the Windows 8 and Android OS side by side, offering users the choice between two OS worlds on one device. Additionally, Asus is apparently also looking at possible 8” and the ever popularly sized 10” Windows-based tablets in the future as well.

To the point

While Shih seems to believe that the 10” devices would make the most sense, we actually have a different opinion, (or perhaps better called, mad dream) of an 8” device which could seamlessly interface with the Xbox One and its healthy library of titles. This though, is not entirely far fetched; some months ago rumours ‘surfaced’ of an Xbox Surface being in the works.

Indeed, if Nvidia could marry streaming PC gaming with Android in a single device as in the its Shield, why can’t Microsoft do the same with its healthy Xbox lineup and Windows apps? Why not, indeed.