NETRONIX TO LAUNCH EB600 EBOOK READERS SPORTING ANDROID

Android is spreading its reach. The Google OS was released only a year ago but now a large number of devices are built on this platform. Now Taiwanese based Netronix, a company best known for its network equipment, has announced its plans to release eBook readers sporting Android. With this objective, the company is working in collaboration with Texas Instruments.

Netronix said that its eBook reader dubbed EB600 will be able to interact with other Android devices but the company hasn’t explained why it should. The readers will also feature 3G/3.5G connectivity for staying connected to internet all the time. So will Netronix EB600 rival Amazon’s Kindle, another eBook reader in the market, which features WhisperNet connectivity?

ACER RELEASES ASPIRE ONE D250 WITH BOTH WINDOWS 7 AND ANDROID

Acer has been talking about an Android + Windows 7 notebook for sometime. Now they have kind of assembled it. Actually Acer has released demo units of a new version of the Acer Aspire One D250 pre-installed with both Windows 7 and Google Android. You can decide which operating system you want at launch. The only problem is that you actually have to boot Android first. You may then choose the ‘Switch OS’ option to load Windows 7. A handful of tech news sites have managed to review the demo unit and their response is mixed.

Laptop Magazine said that even though Android boots really fast (30 seconds), the User Interface isn’t quite designed for laptops. Another problem, according to Pocket Lint, is the lack of keyboard shortcuts to support the Android features. You are left with no options but to navigate with a touchpad and the Esc button.

The device is expected to be available in the UK on October 22nd for £279.

FIRST ANDROID NETBOOK TO HIT THE MARKET SOON

The Skytone Alpha 680 smartbook is famous for being the first convertible netbook based on the Android platform. Other than that there is nothing special about this device. The Alpha 680 doesn’t have very attractive specifications or capabilities.

Actually this tiny device with its 7-inch (800x480) touchscreen display runs on an ARM 11 533 MHz processor with 128MB RAM. The standard storage option is a 1GB flash drive. Optional upgrades include 256MB RAM and 4GB of flash storage. Users who need more storage space can use the SDHC slot for expansion.

The Alpha 680 was announced in May this year. It is expected to hit the market soon.

VIDEO: SNAPDRAGON RUNS ANDROID

No doubt you've been hearing rumors that Android was coming to a netbook near you. You probably might have remembered we covered a few stories last week about home mods doing it. Well finally we have something better to show for it.

Here at Computex (yes its going on now), an ASUS Eee PC smartbook is up and running with Android on a 1GHz Snapdragon chipset. The benefits of this of course is circumvent the expensive licensing fees of Windows XP as well as some cool things such as 720p HD video capabilities. The chipset runs on a 1.3GHz build. But fear not for dual-CPU 1.5GHz are on the way.

You can check out the full details in the video below.

MSI WIND NETBOOK WILL BE NOW ANDROID POWERED

MSI (Micro-Star International) is all set ready to launch its first Android-based netbook at Computex 2009 in the beginning of June, reported by Economic Daily News.

According to Digitimes, MSI has taken the responsibility which is offered by the show to protect orders from computer retailers globally. However the company refused to give any comment on the report. It has also been said that MSI has collaborated with the Institute for Information Industry (III) in Taiwan for the netbook’s development. However, what part III will play in the development is still now clear.

MSI Android-based netbook is expected to be based on the company’s 10.2 inch Wind model. It has also been said that with the launch of this operating system, many companies will be in a position to prepare laptops at a very low costs. After getting the overwhelming response for Android-powered phones, the company is in a hope that they will get the similar response once the Android-based Netbooks is in the market. However, the company has not revealed any specifications about the system.

Apart from that, there are many things that are unknown like what forms the Android netbook might be, i.e whether it will like the present model from the Wind range tweaked to operate the open-source Linux OS, or will be completely of a different range.

ARCHOS ANDROID BASED MID MIGHT BE COMING IN JULY

We've known for quite some time that Android was coming to an Archos had set in the near future, we just didn't know when. So far though we have not gotten a release date until now that is.

NIMBLe ANDROID COUNTERTOP

NIMBLe (pronounced how it sounds) has just demoed a cool countertop that runs Android. Other than the fact that they go press coverage from MC Hammer (no seriously) the countertop carries some awesome features like a 7-inch touchscreen. Other than the obvious Android OS it also carries a 600MHz StrongARM processor (or greater), 128MB RAM and 512 MB flash memory. SD card slots and a 2 megapixel camera are all standard.

While the device does look pretty cool I am still wondering what's the point as netbooks and nettops are taking over the market place by storm. But I guess NIMBLe sees the market and maybe MC would agree. You can catch a video of the device in action courtesy of Engadget.

ANDROID ON THE HP MINI-NOTE 2133

What would you know, some HP loving Canadians have decided that running Linux or Window's XP on a netbook wasn't good enough and have decided to (and succeeded) in porting Google's Android to the HP Mini-Note 2133.

There's not much to go by here and even directions are unavailable but for those of you who are dying to see Android love come to the netbook scene you're welcomed to view the video below (available in HD) of the action. One thing does seem to be confirmed though, the Android OS is actually running from a USB thumb drive and not the systems HDD. That would explain the sluggish performance.