Android Netbooks

[arnodenhond]

During the past 9 months I have been very happy with my G1 (except for the occasional memory issue) but recently I have started thinking about which Android device to get next.

Of the phone-type devices I think Motorola appeals to me the most. They are serious about Android and I hear some rumors about Cliq/Dext coming with android 2.0 which I don't hear about other phones. Plus it has an external keyboard.
However, is a phone-type device really what the best option for a die-hard Android fan-boy?

Why not get a netbook which (if it has cellular connectivity) would actually be like an over sized Android phone? They have bigger screens and keyboards and more memory and battery power. Some of them even have hard disks!
So which netbooks are coming or at least have been rumored? And what are their specifications?
Here is my list with some links to specificulations (speculated specifications)



Skytone Alpha 680

seems kind of promising http://androidcommunity.com/skytone-alpha-680-android-netbook-20090422/


Asus

seems to have been cancelled http://androidcommunity.com/asus-android-netbook-may-be-on-hold-20090825/


Acer

seems to have been postponed http://androidcommunity.com/acer-android-netbook-not-coming-this-year-after-all-20090729/


Dell

not sure if its a phone or netbook http://androidcommunity.com/dell-working-on-android-powered-device-20090706/


Archos

Its a tablet, not a netbook. Doesn't have a keyboard and no cellular connectivity. Not an option for me.

So.. which other Android powered netbooks have you guys heard about?

[constellanation]

i'm not sure there will be many/ if any android netbooks coming out now that google has announced chrome os.

if it does happen it'll most likely be a community/develepor occurance.

[Iceberg]

i'm not sure there will be many/ if any android netbooks coming out now that google has announced chrome os.

if it does happen it'll most likely be a community/develepor occurance.

I think it would be best just to stick with PMP's running Android like Archos.

Lets not forget that Chrome is looking to take over Internet Explorer

[constellanation]

not chrome, but chrome os.

there's a difference!

[arnodenhond]

Yay!

http://phandroid.com/2009/10/03/acer-aod-250-android-aspire-one-netbook-coming-soon/

Want!

[9a3eedi]

Personally, I don't see the point of an Android netbook. Android feels more suited for phones and other handheld devices, perhaps multimedia devices. But not netbooks. The Android OS IMO isn't suited for that kind of thing, and is more suited for very low-spec devices.

Another thing I wonder about is how mice would work with android. So far I havent seen any hint of a mouse in Android

[arnodenhond]

Personally, I don't see the point of an Android netbook. Android feels more suited for phones and other handheld devices, perhaps multimedia devices. But not netbooks. The Android OS IMO isn't suited for that kind of thing, and is more suited for very low-spec devices.
Why would Android not be suitable for devices with higher specs for screen, memory, keyboard, battery and CPU?
Of course higher specs would allow an OS with equally higher specs but that does not mean Android wouldnt be suitable on it. (dos works fine on a pentium)



Another thing I wonder about is how mice would work with android. So far I havent seen any hint of a mouse in Android
A trackball (as in htc devices) is in fact an inverted mouse.
however i think the acer netbook might have a touch pad.

[RegGuheert]

I, too, am looking forward to Android netbooks! To me, the laptops we user are often WAY overkill for web browsing tasks. A netbook should be much more convenient.

I suspect it will be much easier for Android to scale UP to handle more advanced hardware than it was for other OSes like Windows to scale DOWN to support PDAs and cell phones.

Thanks for the links, arnodenhond!