Skytone, a Chinese firm, has released a netbook running Google’s Android operating system. The netbook is apparently selling for $100. Not surprisingly, the specs match the price. The netbook runs a 533 Mhz Arm processor, had 128 MB of DDR2 SDRAM, and a built-in 1GB flash drive. Additionally, this computer has a 7″ swiveling touch screen a la a tablet (though much, much smaller) and 3G capability. So perhaps the term “netbook” is a bit unfair. This device seems to be below what modern netbooks have become as really it is the same technology as a Android phone, though larger and with more by way of input devices (though as of now, the inclusion of “Game Keys” on such a low-powered machine are somewhat baffling).
This may be the first time that a device with similar formfactor to a laptop has come to market with Android installed. As this is intended to retail in China at a low price, it is not too hard to imagine that this will create millions upon millions more users of the Android platform. This also could mark the beginning of a wave of non-mobile phone Android devices. One must keep in mind that Android was not always open source; the source code was not released until October of last year. In its pre-packaged form, Android could only run on devices running an ARMv5 chip, which is almost certainly to blame for the lack of an Android option on other mobile devices.
- “ARM-powered Android netbook tips up” via The Inquirer
