Invasion of the Android Snatchers

"Taipei -- or more accurately, Computex Taipei -- is the hot place to be this week, at least if you're an Android-based netbook. The devices have been popping up like prairie dogs at the show, with Asus, Acer, and ECS, among others, debuting devices with the Google-born mobile OS. Acer is poised to be the first to market with an Android-based netbook -- although Chinese firm Guangzhou Skytone Transmission Technologies describes their own Android-powered box as being in "final testing" -- promising its Aspire One with Android in the third quarter of this year. The Acer machine, which features the same processor used in all Aspire One systems -- the Intel Atom -- boasts specs the appear to be fairly close to those offered by the existing Windows-based Aspires.

"ECS, on the other hand, is offering its device, christened the T800 -- Skynet look out -- with an OMAP3 chip from Texas Instruments, in both 800MHz and 1GHz models, with what are reported as significant power savings over Atom-based machines. The company expects the machine to sell for $500 or less, and be available in the fourth quarter of 2009, though it will likely be marketed to vendors rather than the general public, as ECS is primarily a contract vendor."

Complete Story

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