
Android netbooks on their way, likely by 2010 - qhoxie
http://venturebeat.com/2009/01/01/android-netbooks-on-their-way-likely-by-2010/
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shimi
Google have a made big step in the right direction, ten years ago Bill Gates
promised us a Windows version running on every appliance, Android looks closer
then Windows Mobile to achieve that goal.

Android looks like a good platform for small devices, it runs on a linux
kernel (which makes it cheap), and the application layer is implemented in a
Virtual Machine (Which makes it more stable and secure).

We shouldn't try to compare netbooks applications to desktop applications.
Netbooks should come cheap, which mean they are down on resources, but on the
other hand they can come with features that are missing on a desktop (3G
embedded card e.g.). Its a matter of time until Android devices would be
Office enabled (If the S60 can do it, then Android for sure) which is for me a
big hurdle that Google needs to cross. Other then that its all a matter who
can come up the right applications that will make the netbooks a valid market
(A lack of applications is what drove down the Tablet PC market, in my view
anyway).

One more thing, since the Android API is Java like and straight forward (my
opinion again), the amount of web based applications converted into native
code is currently one of the main drives for building Android applications. As
cool as it is this is not enough to make the Android ground braking platform.

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joshsharp
I've been thinking for a while now that netbooks should come with their own
App Store-style arrangement, because a specific environment for small, simple,
low-resolution-optimised apps would be a big boon. So I guess Android fits
that bill... I don't think it's anywhere near mature enough to use at the
moment though, but it's a step in the right direction.

Now, how about those other embedded devices... Android on my fridge and in my
car's dashboard perhaps...

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schtog
Yes app-stores could mean a lot for small and amateur developers.

I personally hope their will be a way to charge for stuff in the Android-phone
app-store soon.

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davidw
I like Android a lot for mobile phones, and could definitely see it running in
other embedded environments, but wonder if it's a little bit underpowered for
something like a netbook. With Linux, you get stuff like The Gimp,
OpenOffice... real applications rather than 'Google Apps'. They probably don't
run so fast on those small boxes, but at least they're running locally.

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stcredzero
There's no reason why such a netbook couldn't have such apps. There's already
a Java port of OpenOffice called NeoOffice. My understanding was that most of
it was done through a transliteration of the OpenOffice code.

I think most users want something like a Google managed Android netbook. Just
give them something that works, where they don't have to worry about
compatibility issues, DLL hell, viruses, and malware. The vast majority of
users would love that.

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davidw
> Java port of OpenOffice called NeoOffice.

Yes, but Android doesn't use straight up Java, especially in terms of its GUI
code.

I could see the appeal of the 'slimmed down' system, but I suppose we'll have
to see what sorts of apps are created for Android, whether they're useful in
something that's significantly different in terms of form factor. Good apps
should be able to handle it, but it could be that what's good for a quick
whirl on the phone is seen as a not so serious app for a computer that people
actually sit down to use.

What _is_ cool about it is it shows how cool Android is, and how people will
end up doing innovative things with it.

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Haskell
I think a netbooks's screen is too small to use it as a convential desktop.

This just got me thinking. If Apple is rumored to launch a Netbook and a Ipod
Touch with a bigger screen, maybe they are going to launch both in the same
device. That is, Apple's netbook and the new bigger Ipod touch will be one.

Something like the new OLPC prototype, with a virtual keyboard on the other
screen. It would be the Nintendo DS killer.

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someperson
Except a DS is already 4 years old (nearing the end of it's lifecycle). In the
next year or two, Nintendo will just release something new (not just another
rehash); especially if Apple keep closing in on the handheld games market.
Maybe the next gen Nintendo handheld killer...

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drinian
I have to say, Android's sandboxed environment could be a big step up from the
home-grown Linux sandboxes that Asus et al. currently ship with their
netbooks.

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redorb
yeah androi over asus linux, and google docs with pre installed gears would be
comparble to office

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pxlpshr
I won't be carrying around a Netbook until the form factor is a touch-screen
tablet. I'd much rather carry around my full-featured 13" MacBook until
then... The extra inches is hardly a burden on my shoulder.

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jawngee
You can add a touch screen to nearly any netbook fairly easily (no soldering).
Google and set yourself free!

;)

