Android so far is only on a few phones, but some want to put the Google OS on bigger devices. Yet just as analysts are starting to believe in the suitability of Android to run netbooks, chipmaker Nvidia is backing off the OS for the newly emerged smartbook category.
Analysts at Gartner have gone on record stating that Android is a viable alternative for netbooks. The OS isn’t quite ready to run on devices with screens larger than phones, but they’re confident it will be soon, providing a good alternative to Windows and Linux, either of which can be found in all netbooks currently on the market. Applications will play a big part in providing the functions that consumers need from netbooks and there are already some decent apps in the Android Market that could drive its adoption.
Once Android becomes a player in the netbook game, this will open up an alternative to the Intel Atom processor, which is the de facto standard in this class, as Android is written for other processors. We’ll most likely see Snapdragon processors based on ARM technology first, as Android is already optimized for them. Given the integrated communications in the ARM architecture and the “instant on” nature of the chipset, this will open up a whole range of capabilities for cheap netbooks and smartbooks.
Nvidia is hoping to get into the relatively new smartbook devices market with its Tegra processor. It was previously thought that the company was looking to go the Android route but it’s laid that thought to rest, at least for a year. In a statement that has surprised many, Nvidia said it will produce Tegra-powered smartbooks, but running the aging Windows CE operating system. Their reasoning is that Android is not ready yet but that Windows CE is mature and ready to roll.
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