If you have an ARM tablet running Windows RT, such as the Microsoft Surface tablet, you already know that you’re restricted to applications that Microsoft has approved and added to the Windows Store. Those kinds of restrictions have never stopped enterprising hackers before, and now XDA developer mamaich has released a new utility that allows you to run full x86 Windows applications on RT tablets.
Be warned, however, that mamaich’s tool is very, very beta, and it requires you to unlock (essentially jailbreak) your Windows RT tablet. Once you do, his tool essentially emulates x86 on ARM and passes Windows API calls to RT to be executed normally, so it’s not too heavy on system resources.
He’s only tested it with a handful of apps right now — most notably some old-school Windows games like Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and some utilities like 7Zip and WinRAR. He’s currently planning a number of improvements to the tool.
His final goal is to make the x86 emulator automatically launch so you don’t have to run it yourself every time you want to load up a standard Windows application, and he even has a list of apps and games he plans to support in the next few releases.
Hit the XDA forum thread below to grab the utility or to get involved in the development discussion. Keep in mind that the tool is aimed at Windows RT devices right now, like the Microsoft Surface (not the Surface Pro), and your experience may vary substantially.
[Beta version] Running x86 apps on WinRT devices [xda-developers via Hack a Day]
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