Android to be number-2 mobile OS by 2013

From Digitimes -

Per IDC, by 2013 worldwide shipments of smartphones will surpass 390 million units, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20.9% for 2009-2013, and Android will become the number-two mobile operating system (OS), with Android-powered shipments reaching 68.0 million units, starting from just 690,000 units in 2008, for a CAGR of 150.4% for the said period. Symbian, through Nokia phones, will retain its market leadership.

Meanwhile Linux and Palm's webOS shipments will struggle throughout the same forecast period, with the latter capturing only limited market share due to limited deployment and availability of devices across multiple carriers.

Nokia N900 dual booting Maemo 5 and Android

Asus weighing up Chrome versus Android

Asus chair Jonney Shih has informed ZDNet UK his company has prototype Android and Chrome OS smartbooks and is currently deciding whether to release an ARM-based device to complement its Intel-based Eee PCs. They are still not sure if users would sacrifice Windows compatibility for a lower-cost subnotebook running a Linux-based OS on a non-Intel compatible ARM chipset. In addition, they need to choose between Google's two operating systems, Android and Chrome OS.

Android is targeted towards smartphones while Chrome OS is cloud-centric and based on the Chrome web browser. The former is faster but is suited more for smaller screens while the latter has multi-windowing.

BoEye MID700 unveiled with Android OS, vaguely familiar form factor

From Engadget -

BoEye recently demo'ed at the Dubai GITEX its new Android MID, the MID700. Aside from the bigger size, its design has some iPhone like touches, including the silver bevel, capacitive glass touchschreen, a front-facing webcam, and a solitary button on the bottom of the screen. A nice touch is the use of the open source Android OS from Google and a rumored sub-$300 price.

Google Android Dualboot on Acer Aspire One D250

Uploaded by NewGadgetsDE -

Acer Aspire One AOD250 impressions: Android gone bad

From Engadget -

At first glance, the Acer Aspire One AOD250 appears to have potential, with Android running in dual-boot mode, a fast start-up time,, and Google apps. Unfortunately, it does not have the blessings of Google, meaning no Gmail, no Marketplace. Add its connection problems over WiFi and Ethernet, it almost becomes a brick in the making, with the only redeeming feature being Windows XP, which is not saying much.

Video here.

More photos of unknown Android MID surface

Pocketables has received yet another bpatch of photos showing an Apple-like Android MID.

The photo above shows the mysterious device on top of a Sony Vaio P, revealing an SD slot and what could be phone functions. In addition, its size can be estimated at 4.5 x 3". There are also other tidbits that can be gleaned from the other photos, but beyond those, everything else is speculation.

You can view the other photos here.

Nvidia: For smartbooks, Windows CE beats Android

From Computerworld -

Mike Rayfield, Nvidia's mobile business unit GM, said his company preferred Windows CE over Android because of the latter's maturity. For smartbooks, Nvidia is working with Microsoft to optimize Windows CE when it runs on Tegra, Nvidia's System-on-Chip (SoC) for ARM hardware. Windows CE devices will be able to offload much of the heavy multimedia work onto Tegra, resulting in better performance, 1080p video, and low power usage.

Nvidia chose to work with Windows CE first because it is a rock-solid operating system that has been shipped billions of times, aside from having a low memory footprint and a good collection of apps. But it is also working with Google to accelerate Android, which is based on Linux, when running on Tegra hardware. But it will be about a year before that delivers for smartbooks, due to existing limitations in Android such as video and graphics rendering being done in Java without hardware acceleration.

Acer shows off Android on a netbook

From Engadget -

Acer is showing off an Android-powered Aspire One D250 at Computex Taiwan allthough the company reiterated it isn't the actual Android netbook. The OS appears unmodified other than support for the 10" screen and runs pretty fast. One surprise is the inclusion of Firefox, including the menu bar.

Asus Eee PC spotted running Android + Qualcomm 1GHz CPU

From Tweaktown -

An Asus Eee PC running Android with Qualcomm 1GHz CPU was demo'd at the Qualcomm Technologies press conference in Computex Taipei yesterday.

Android apps to run on Ubuntu

From Ars Technica -

Ubuntu developer Canonical is building an Android execution environment that will allow Android apps to run on Ubuntu and potentially other Linux distros. The effort will open the door for Android apps to the desktop. In fact, the latest version of Google's open-source Linux-based platform has much improved reliability and more appeal to carriers and handset makers. The addition of an x86 port only increases anticipation of its entry into the netbook market.

T-Mobile: Android Netbooks Coming.

From I4U News -

In an interview, Cole Brodman, T-Mobile CTO, stated that his company is going to launch several new Android devices later this year, after having sold in excess of 1,000,000 Android powered G1s so far. Cheaper Android-running phones should net the company even more sales.

Brodman also said he personally saw several prototypes of Android netbooks from some manufacturers. This last revelation hints at a possible bundle with the upcoming MSI-Android Netbook.

Ingenic Porting Android to Xburst

Beijing-based Ingenic, the maker of the Xburst MIPS processors found in those inexpensive Linux-based sub $100 - $150 7" netbooks is reportedly working on an Android port for their Xburst series. While it is not clear if the port is for a new processor, it would not be a surprise if it is for their Jz4740, which is used by a lot of the netbook manufacturers. If so, the port should be able to run on existing Xburst netbooks with the Linux 2.6 kernel.

It would be interesting to see if the bundled Webkit-based browser will be able to support Flash, a feature that is glaringly missing in the current Xburst models. More importantly, will ordinary users be able to install Android on their own - given that the current models don't provide a straightforward of flashing the ROM nor even terminal access?

Timetable is projected to be a couple of months. That is not a bad wait - considering we may just yet end up with an Android netbook that is cheaper than most Android mobile phones. :)

Bsquare Outs Dell Android Netbook

In a press release titled "Bsquare to Port Adobe Flash Lite on New Google Android Netbook for Dell Leverages Bsquare's Android Competency to Improve the Adobe(R) Flash(R) Lite Experience on Dell's Mini Inspiron 910", Bsquare reveals Dell's upcoming netbook models running on Android. It reads in part -

BELLEVUE, WA -- (Marketwire) -- 05/06/09 -- Bsquare Corporation (NASDAQ: BSQR), the leading software solutions provider to the global embedded device community, today announced it is porting Adobe's Flash Lite 3.17 technology onto Dell Netbooks running Google's Android platform...

Full press release here.

First Android netbook to cost $250

From TG Daily -

The first netbook to use the Google Android OS, the Skytone Alpha 680, is expected to hit store shelves within the next three months at a price of $250. The product is currently undergoing final testing at Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies with a final prototype due in June. Specs include a 7" LCD screen, a 533MHz ARM 11 CPU (same as the Apple iPhone), touchpad, keyboard, WiFi, and a battery that can last 2 - 4 hours. It weighs 1.5 lbs.

Android OS in Netbooks Soon?

Per CNET some netbook manufacturers are planning to introduce netbooks using Google's Android operating system.

Korean Tri-gem subsidiary Averatec (photo above) has developed "from scratch" a 10" netbook rumored to be bundled with Android. The CEO however will not confirm the rumors, merely saying it will be a surprise. Another manufacturer, China-based Skytone, of Xburst netbook fame, has also announced it will make a $250 Android-based netbook. Larger makers like HP, Asus, and others have also said confirmed experimenting with Android on their netbook models.

MSI to showcase Android-based netbook at Computex

From Digitimes -

MSI plans to showcase an Android-based netbook at Computex 2009 aiming to gain orders from global PC vendors. The development of the netbook has been mainly assisted by Taiwan's Institute for Information Industry (III).

Acer's dream team confirms netbook Android experiments

From Engadget -

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci has confirmed his company has been experimenting with Android but didn't think an Android netbook was ready for primetime. While they've prototyped android on a netbook with good results, they don't foresee any desktop application at the moment. Also a major concern is making sure users get a full-fledged browser experience.

Google sets up tech team in Taiwan to support Android-based products

Per Digitimes the president of Google Taiwan, Chien Lee-feng, has revealed that his company has set up an Android team there to offer technical support to local hardware makers developing Android-based products, including netbooks and embedded systems.

Google Android May Run Asus Netbook

From Bloomberg -

According to Samsun Hu, Asus Eee PC business head, his company has allocated engineers to develop an Android-based netbook by as early as the year end but hasn’t decided whether to proceed with a final product because the project is still under development.

An Android-powered notebook would extend Google’s rivalry with Microsoft into the OS market, where the latter's Windows currently controls has more than 90% share. However, netbooks, which are the fastest-growing segment, tend to offer OS alternatives, especially free Linux-based distros.