Netbook Scoop

At Netbook Scoop, we are doing a series of articles on new netbook operating systems (OSs).

In an earlier article, we explained how to download Google’s Android OS and install it on a bootable USB stick.  That way, you can test Android on a netbook with out disturbing the existing operating system.

In this article, we will take a look at Google’s Android and decide whether it is a worthy contender as a future netbook OS.

Getting Android To Boot

Our first challenge was just getting Android to boot on a netbook.  Most of the time, the splash screen was displayed.  And that was it – nothing else happened.

Android Splash

We tried on a bunch of netbooks (Acer Aspire One D150, Eee PC 1008HA, Samsung N120) without success.

Finally, when we tried booting my Dell Inspiron Mini 12, success!  Android booted cleanly and we found ourselves looking at the Android Home screen.

Android Home Screen

First Impressions

The Android home screen is attractive.  The first thing that strikes you is that everything is so big.  The next thing that you notice is how stark the screen is.  Just a clock, three icons and a sliding panel.

Then you remember, this OS was designed for use on smartphones.

We had some problems maneuvering.  Android was designed for use with a touch screen.  It ignored our mouse.  So we had to figure out how to navigate using the keyboard.  Not really a problem.

Exploring Android

Selecting the Dialer at the bottom of the screen, brought up this screen (click to enlarge any of the images):

Android Dialer

OK.  That is great for a smartphone.  Hitting the ESC key brought us back to the home page.  Selecting the Contacts icon brought this screen up:

Android Contacts

Contacts are always important.  But not much to see here.  Let’s look at the browser.

Android Browser

We could not display a page because we were not connected to a network.  I tried a number of different techniques, from a number of Android blog sites, but I was unsuccessful in getting the network recognized inside Android.

But I am sure the browser works just fine once a network connection is made.

Let’s go back to the Home screen and explore that sliding panel on the right of the screen.

Android Programs

Finally!  Some real stuff to explore.  Snake on a Phone caught my eye.

Android Snake on a Phone

Some of the icons, like IM and Calendar, didn’t do anything.  With beta software, that is to be expected.  The Settings icon brought us this screen:

Android Settings Application

Here are a few more screenshots of Android applications.

Android Mail

Android Alarm Clock

Android Picture in API Demo

Summary

I think my overall impression of Android is demonstrated by this screenshot of the Android Calculator.

Android Calculator

This makes sense for a smartphone, but on a netbook, filling the whole screen with with a calculator application makes no sense at all.

Android is a great smartphone OS.  But it not designed for a netbook and performs poorly as a netbook OS.

Google is aware of this as well.  That is why they recently announced their Chrome OS.  With Linux as the core, it won’t take Google long to package a set of features into the Chrome OS for netbooks.

There are still reports of impeding introductions of netbooks with Android as the operating system.  I don’t believe we will see any of these in the third quarter of 2009 (as some have predicted).  When they do appear, I am sure that the OS will not be Android, but instead, Chrome OS.   And I am just as sure that Chrome will look and feel completely different than this.