Acer has announced at Computex 2009 that they will release a version of the popular Aspire One netbook configured with Google’s Android operating system.
Android is Google’s Linux-based operating system that was originally developed for smartphones.
What is interesting about this is that the first netbooks only ran on Linux. Then Microsoft woke up and virtually wiped out Linux-based netbooks by cutting the cost for XP licenses to near zero.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of press around two new Linux-based operating systems. Google’s Andoid and Intel’s Moblin.
Although Acer’s first Andoid-based netbook will have an Intel Atom N270 CPU, the reason for a lot of the excitement surrounds netbooks in the wings that are not based on Intel chips.
There are a number of different netbooks in development that have CPUs based on ARM designs, like Nvidia’s Tegra that we highlighted a few days ago. ARM processors are currently used on many smartphones. These CPUs are attractive based on their low power consumption which provides long battery life.
Microsoft’s Windows operating systems will not run on ARM processors.
All this creates a real problem for Microsoft. The game plan for Microsoft is to migrate netbooks to the new Windows 7 operating system and to begin making money. Speculation is that their target is a $30 per netboook increase. That represents about a 10% price increase in the average netbook.
Microsoft will undoubtably respond in an effort to kill off this new competitive threat. Call me cynical, but they have not failed in the past, and there is no sign that this will play out any differently.
But, being a Linux fan, I’ll be cheering on the sideline for the underdogs.
A few weeks ago Intel released it’s Linux-based Moblin 2 Beta for Netbooks. Moblin is based on fedora and is aimed at the intel powered netbooks.
The OS looks like it is going to be a nice change up for the netbook market. Moblin and Android should give Windows 7 a run for it’s money later this year.
I’ve attached a video of Moblin v2.0 beta in use.
I also download the Live Image from the community and tried it out.
I was really impressed with the OS. It is still a little buggy, but expected being a beta release. All that said, there should be some serious interest in this OS as it get’s close to a final release.
Moblin looks like it will be a breath of fresh air when it launches. Check it out and let me know what your think.
If you remember when Asus launched the Eee PC it came with a custom Linux load. This was a huge event for the Linux community.
The success of the netbook and the Eee PC had caught Microsoft’s attention. Within the last 6 months to a year Microsoft has successfully taken over the netbook market with Windows XP.
Now with Windows dominating the netbook market and Linux quickly losing ground I have to ask the question. Do you think it’s better with Windows?
Steve loaded Windows 7 on his new Samsung N120 netbook. In this video, he shows us:
It boots quickly (comparable to XP)
Enhanced power saving features
Sweet multimedia features
Plays movies smoothly
Sound quality on the N120 is better-than-average-netbook
Take a look and listen.
Samsung N120 160GB 6-Cell XP
10.2" Display (1024x600), 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 6 Cell Battery, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Brooke Crothers recently interviewed Intel executive Noury Al-Khaledy, general manager of Nettop and Netbook Computing. While much of Brooke’s article describes how the explosion of demand for netbooks caught Intel (and the rest of the computer industry) by surprise, Al-Khaledy’s comments about Windows 7 on netbooks was more interesting to me.
Here are some key quotes from the article:
Unless Windows 7 is priced aggressively, Al-Khaledy doesn’t see it as a catalyst necessarily for a spike in Netbook sales. “I don’t see it as a big tipping point. It’s all about pricing. If you have to pay $30 more for Windows 7, it might make (consumers) pause.
There’s just not a lot of margin in the box,” he said. “(But) if Microsoft prices Starter and Basic aggressively, why wouldn’t you?”
“I would expect most (PC makers) will launch a Netbook with Windows 7,” Al-Khaledy continued. “The Starter, Basic (versions) should run well.”
I think this is a very realistic assessment of the situation facing Microsoft.
In the beginning, all netbooks ran on Linux. When their popularity began to soar, Microsoft saw a threat to their OS monopoly. They responded as they always do, by raising fear, uncertainty and doubt about their competitor and cutting their prices to the bone until the competitor is vanquished.
Offering XP Home Edition at bargain basement price on netbooks did not cost Microsoft anything. But they need to make a profit on their investment in Windows 7. But they can’t raise the price much. Heck. the $30 that Al-Khaledy mentions would be a 10% increase for many netbooks.
That won’t fly. Mostly because Linux is not gone. As proof, see my article earlier today about how Linux continues to grow market share at a client OS on the Internet.
It is still the #1 server operating system. And, although Microsoft would like you to believe that it’s being developed by geeks sitting in their underwear at night coding in their basements, in reality, Microsoft’s competitors (IBM, Novell and many others) continue to polish and improve it.
So you chould expect that Microsoft will continue to provide Windows for netbooks at a sweetheart price. They will transition from XP to Windows 7 with a nominal price increase.
Even the most diehard Microsoft fanboys should be appreciative. Without Linux challenging Microsoft, the price of netbooks would be a lot higher. And maybe the netbook craze would have never happened. After all, netbooks don’t run Vista very well at all.
Net Applications, an internet traffic monitoring and optimization organization, reports that, during April 2009, Linux clients exceeded 1% of the total Internet traffic.
As a Linux supporter, I say Woo Hoo!
While 1% does not seem like much, it represents a foot in the door.
Consider this: Apple’s share during April was only 9.7%.
While Microsoft is claiming victory in the netbook operating system battle, Linux slowly marches forward.
Rumors have been going around about the Android OS for Netbooks. Skytone.net has listed the Alpha 680 Netbook with the Android OS for $250.00. The Alpha 680 looks to have a 7″ display (800×480) and runs on a 533mhz ARM11 processor. Below is a table with all the specs on the Alpha 680.
Model Name
Alpha 680
Operating System
google android
Display
7“ TFT LCD true color
LCD resolution
800 x 480( WVGA)
Internet Connection (Optional)
ADSL, WiFi,? GPRS, CDMA,EDGE,WCDMA?
Memory
128MB DDR2 (up to 256MB Optional)
Solid-State Disk
1 GB Nand Flash Memory (up to 4GB Optional)
CPU
ARM11 533 MHz 32bit
LAN / Connection
10/100 MB Ethernet ; RJ-45
Wireless
Built-in WiFi
Media
Support MPEG1/2/4,H.263,H.264,WMV9
USB Output
USB 2.0 x 2
Media Storage
SD/MMC card slot ( support SDHC)
Input Device
80 Key standard keyboard; Capacitive TouchPad
Give us your feedback on what you think of the Android OS. Are you looking forward to having the OS available on Netbooks?
In an earlier post, I explained that I needed a new netbook. In this post, I’ll select and list which netbooks that meet my requirements. In later posts, I explore each of these individually.
Here is what is important to me.
Must have a Linux OS. (It’s a personal preference.)
Must have a keyboard that I can touch-type on. That especially means a full-size right shift key.
Must be thin and light (since I carry this and a laptop in the same bag).
Prefer 6+ hours of battery life (so it lasts a whole plan trip), but I might be willing to accept shorter battery life to keep the netbook thin and light.
If I can get better resolution than 1024×600, without adding too much to the size/weight, then I would do so.
I don’t need a hard drive. I don’t store much on the netbook. Just about everything I need is online. A solid-state drive with 8-16 GB is smaller and lighter.
Of course, it has to be a good value.
I’ll review each brand and identify which models make the cut.
Microsoft’s response reminded me of those Watergate-era Nixon Administration “non-denial denials”. They did not deny that they were going to introduce a netbook-specific version of Windows 7.
Microsoft’s low-cost XP licensing program for ULPCs is not a long-term fix for the company. It is like putting a band-aid on your skin cancer. It keeps the public from viewing the wound, but it doesn’t make the problem go away.
Microsoft still has a problem. If they force netbook manufacturers to pay full license cost for Windows 7, then the manufacturers will pass along the increase to buyers. This will make the Linux versions more attractive.
So Microsoft must offer an ultra low-cost version of Windows 7 for netbooks. They only question is which features will be stripped out to justify the difference.
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