Android Coming to ASUS?

As the netbook market strives to lower its costs, manufacturers are beginning to look beyond free Linux-based operating systems towards operating systems used by internet-enabled smartphones. That might explain why Asus is planning on making Android-based netbooks soon.



ASUS recently announced that an Android-based netbook has been in development and could possibly see a release by the end of the year. The Android-based software is less demanding on the size and cost-conscious netbook specs than Windows XP or Vista, and is optimal for ARM processors and displays with touchscreen interfaces.

Android as a smartphone OS is designed to run on ARM processors with performance rates as low as 200MHz, giving netbooks, which use Intel Atom processors to run Windows applications, an operating system more suited to its current specs.

More importantly, however, a Linux-based Android OS would not require a licensing fee, unlike Microsoft who requires a licensing fee for each computer purchased, cutting costs for the manufacturer and lowering the price for the consumer.

No specs information has been released and development is still in its early phases, meaning an actual product release is still uncertain at this point. Nevertheless, at the smartphone and netbook market’s current rate of innovation and expansion, it is only a matter of time before ASUS or one of its many competitors combines the strengths of both to make a more economical and efficient product.

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