Qualcomm Runs Android on Netbook Chip
Qualcomm said today it is running Google’s Android platform on its Snapdragon chipset designed for netbooks and mobile Internet devices. This isn’t earth-shattering since Snapgragon is an ARM-based chip, and another Qualcomm ARM-based chip powers the G1 Android phone. Qualcomm is also a big Android backer through the Open Handset Alliance. But the news bolsters our previous reporting that we could soon see a netbook running Android rather than straight-up Linux or Windows. Once this happens, the lines between mobile operating systems and PC operating systems will be effectively blurred, and we wonder where Android will go next?
I think they have been effectively blurred already.
Using the Blackberry Bold I’ve been convinced we’re closer than ever. The fact that it can run multiple apps, allowing me to switch between them, write docs, etc. on the go… yeah, we’re well on our way.
Mobile, super light, offi-site data storage, remote music programs like pandora but smarter. We’re going baby!
I used Android constantly while on holiday, both on a G1 and on one of Texas Instruments’ OMAP3430 development platforms. While sitting at a stoplight, in a city I’ve never visited, the lady in the car next to me asks if I know where she can find a Taco Bell … clearly she was fighting a major craving. Before the light turns green, not only have I told her where to curb her Chalupa appetite but also where she can save twenty cents per gallon on fuel (thank you GasBot).
Anyone digging into the Android code will find that most of the hooks are already there to enable it to scale. It was clearly designed as a platform to grow and, as Stacy highlights, the advantage of Android is that there are no limits on where it can go next.
After running Android on larger resolution displays, with touch-type keyboard, and higher performing OMAP3 processor I can attest that the step up to accessing rich cloud services is very near. Give me this and GEARS and I’ll have all the netbook I need next year.
[...] Qualcomm Runs Android on Netbook Chip Qualcomm said today it is running Google’s Android platform on its Snapdragon chipset designed for netbooks and mobile Internet devices. This isn’t earth-shattering since Snapgragon is an ARM-based chip, and another Qualcomm ARM-based chip powers the G1 Android phone. Qualcomm is also a big Android backer through the Open Handset Alliance. [...]
[...] però, Android viene fatto girare persino sui netbooks (sia da quelli di VentureBeat che da Qualcomm), e già costituisce il cuore del touch device NIMble, un telefono fisso (desk phone) [...]
[...] based on an IP core from ARM, that are becoming powerful enough to run mobile Internet devices, and perhaps netbooks. Even graphics chipmaker Nvidia has built an application processor for smartphones and mobile [...]
[...] especially high hopes for its Android mobile operating system, which is being used on smartphones, netbooks and eventually on other [...]
[...] attempt to port its Windows OS to the ARM-based chips found in smartphones, and the software will eventually head to netbooks. In addition, manufacturers are trying to adapt Google’s Android software to work on [...]
[...] our conversation Brodman hinted that T-Mobile USA is pretty optimistic about Android OS running on netbooks. He said he’s seen demo versions of Android-based netbooks from the largest U.S. computer [...]
[...] Three – Fast-forward to January of 2009, when Google’s Android begins to appear on netbook prototypes running with ARM processors, while Acer publicly commits to the sale of an Android netbook in the [...]
[...] member of the Open Handset Alliance, has already installed Android on their Snapdragon chipset (http://gigaom.com/2009/01/08/qualcomm-runs-android-on-netbook-chip/) for mobile terminals (like the G1) and for Mobile Internet Devices [...]
[...] The bigger indicator of momentum for Android is the excitement it has generated in the semiconductor industry. EETimes reports that, in addition to chip companies ARM and MIPS, semiconductor design firms such as Aricent and Mentor Graphics have established special Android-focused businesses. Freescale Semiconductor is working on an Android-based netbook design, as is Qualcomm. [...]
[...] and others. Meanwhile Freescale Semiconductor is working on an Android-based netbook design, as is Qualcomm. While most of the attention surrounding Android is focused on mobile — more specifically, [...]