ARM reported its quarterly earnings yesterday, and the company made some intriguing statements when asked about the chances of Windows 8 tablets when compared to the underwhelming performance of Android tablets thus far. CEO Warren East believes that Microsoft has a leg up in awareness and familiarity over Android, and that the company can leverage that awareness to be successful with Windows 8 on tablets. East specifically cited the ubiquity of Windows, saying that "consumers are very familiar with Microsoft and very familiar with Windows and they're less familiar with an Android environment. So I think Microsoft has an awareness advantage with consumers that the Android folks didn't have." His argument may have merit, but it hasn't exactly helped Windows Phone gain marketshare against Android in the mobile phone space.

It's a little surprising to hear the typically-neutral ARM speak in favor of one platform over another; after all, ARM's designs power a great many of the Android devices in the market. And while East is feeling bullish about Microsoft's chances with Windows 8 tablets, he believes Android tablets deserve more time before writing them off: "When Android phones were introduced... there was a lot of hype and then actually, they didn't take off in the sort of way that reflected that hype. And then a few years later... we're seeing Android phones shipping... 700,000 units a day and continuing to ramp and really be a very successful product." Judging by these comments, we'd imagine that ARM would be just as happy to see both platforms flourish.