“Asustek Computer Inc., which pioneered the market for sub-$500 laptops, may install Google Inc.’s free Android operating system on its low-cost notebooks, challenging the dominance of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software,” Tim Culpan reports for Bloomberg.
“Asustek has allocated engineers to develop an Android-based netbook by as early as the year end, Samson Hu, head of the Taipei-based company’s Eee PC business, said in an interview yesterday. Asustek hasn’t decided whether to proceed with a final product because the project is still under development, he said,” Culpan reports. “‘With the strength of Google behind it, Android could really challenge Microsoft and steal some market share,’ said Calvin Huang, a computer-industry analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Taipei. ‘The benefit is the free license and you can use a lower-power, cheaper processor.'”
“Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the Texas-based computer-chip maker taken private in 2006, said this week it began discussions with Taiwan’s Pegatron Corp. to create a netbook design that can use Android. Freescale expects to be producing chips for the device in large quantities by the second quarter,” Culpan reports.
Full article here.
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Hewlett-Packard is considering replacing Microsoft’s Windows with software developed by Google in some mini-PCs called netbooks.”
Full article (subscription required) here.
MacDailyNews Take: Google from the bottom, Apple from the top; the squeeze is on!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
