Android installed and running on an Eee PC in a matter of hours

While Windows may be more popular than Linux when it comes to netbooks for a variety of reasons, price certainly isn't one of them. We don't know whether it's peoples' fear of the unknown or just the awful UI facades typically used to hide the open-source alternative, but a lot of people are hoping that Android could sweep in and offer a third choice -- someday. Not content to wait, a couple of freelancers at VentureBeat (who also run a startup called Mobile-facts) spent a few hours tweaking Google's (Linux-based) OS to run on ASUS hardware and, thanks to the availability of open-source drivers for all the wee thing's wee devices, were up and running in no time. Mind you, the giant buttons and simplistic UI seem more suited to a G1 than an S10, but it surely wouldn't take long to fix that. So, the only question now is when will a manufacturer step up and announce Android out of the box? There's a little electronics show coming up soon, so maybe we'll hear more there.

[Via Engadget German]

[electron @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:45PM]

dang, thats prety cool!
now if they just just get it running on the samsung P2... (well, I can hope, right? ;)

[Flashpoint @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:10PM]

The Simple reason people will stick with Mac and Windows is because they are comfortable there.

Its all about advertising. I remember years ago, people would only trust Intel - wouldn't buy AMD. "Pentium" was injected into the conscious...what the hell is an "athlon"?

Mac has the best advertising of any product ever. Windows advertises well, but they have pushed the Microsoft brand name into so many businesses and stores that people recognize it and aren't willing to venture away from it.

Android's only true advertisement now is as an alternative operating system - and its only mobile is the cellphone market. Is that enough to get people to trust the desktop and laptop Android market? I doubt it.

Maybe a bucnh of tech bloggers might think so - but Lay consumers aren't going for it.

[ZeRo @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:12PM]

@FlashPoint

I think that you maybe on to something, but in the same way your making it out to be. Sure Linux doesn't have the exposure, that Apple and Microsoft have (say win 95 being microsoft break and the ipod being Apple's breakout) , but linux is barely breaking into the market. With so many flavors,people don't know what to buy. Now if you have android running on a phone and a laptop etc.. and you start seeing that same gui being implemented all over the place, then people will start to see the benefits of OpenSource. Just like microsoft has winmo and windows. Apple imac and iphone running osx, Linux too needs some consistency across multiple places.

[Jason @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:26PM]

Actually, the lay consumers that I've introduced to Linux are really into it. My mom insisted I put it on her computer. My wife, who originally made jokes like, "KDE? Kword? Kolf? How about K-rap!", will not let Windows back into the house now. Just last week my in-laws were visiting and I set up PCLinuxOS on a spare laptop for my MIL. She loved it. She can't wait until I have some time to come down and show her how to get the most out of it.

It's always going to come down to what you like. Mac users tend to be raving fanatics about their setup, as are Linux users. The problem is both camps tend to annoy the hell out of Windows users who just want to be left the hell alone about it (partly due to cognitive dissonance and partly due to the fact that they finally got the damn thing to work so why change it?). If only fanboys could be a little less obnoxious about it (myself included), more people would find themselves finding what they like and sticking with it.

[aaron @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:55PM]

@Jason

Bravo! Well said.

[Flaystus @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:48PM]

and now the true age of the ultra long battery can begin

[LondonConsultant @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:49PM]

Eeedroid...

[htd @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:50PM]

why lenovo s10 is mentioned when it's ASUS eeepc?

[Unknown @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:53PM]

I, for one, welcome our new Android overlords...
and hope to see a version for the AspireOne.

[aaron @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:03PM]

I, for one....freaking hate "I, for one" posts

[Baz @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:53PM]

Well, just about anything is better (see the install of XP) than ASUS' own tweaked version of Xandros and their subsequent Support (or lack thereof) for it.

But, as noted, we really need to get away from the 'Idiot Buttons' default UI on several of these 'netbooks' (especially once it was discovered that they're being used by adults and not children as ASUS had originally marketed for) and allow users full - yet friendly - access to the software capabilities of these OS.

Should Google offer an incredibly simple, Eee-friendly, fully capable Android I might just bite the bullet and give it a try.

[Dan @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:30PM]

Amen to that. I think developers need to think in terms of variability of technical skill levels. I think most people* can agree that an ideal OS would be user-friendly but highly customizable should the need or desire arise. Over-simplification can lead to something seeming condescending or not flexible enough for broad application. When you get too technical, though, there's a steep learning curve and lack of accessibility.

I feel like I'm almost ready to drink the kool-aid here.


*excluding Mac OS users. LOSERS.

[bookburnr @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:05PM]

Dan, you had a great point until the very end, when you completely ruined any credibility you might have had.

[Dan @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:22PM]

I feel stupid using "[/sarcasm]", but since you insist...

The more I think about it, the less it make sense to pit OSs against each other the way we do. Different OSs cater to different requirements in terms of customization, accessibility, industry support, open source-ness, etc. Claiming that Mac OS or Windows or Linux or BSD is better than any other is ridiculous because it can't be true in every circumstance. It's MORE a question of what your needs are at the time and what your personality is than it is a question of what has better raw usability or customization.

It's only been since Apple recaptured market share and Microsoft took a nose-dive in popularity over Vista qualms that open-source alternatives are finally getting their share of the limelight. I've been a windows user my entire adult life, but I feel like the proliferation of options will make developers focus on user needs in a new way. It's optimistic, but I think we need to move beyond squabbling about whether or not Vista sucks or Macs can play games as well as PCs and start thinking about why some people choose one OS over another and how we can implement that without sacrificing the OS's core values.

[mabhatter @ Jan 2nd 2009 4:28PM]

I agree with BaZ, the linux on netbook thing has been awful. The only installs are also-ran disto clones nobody supports. They're all hacked versions of pay-for distros.. but that the actual makers of the disto don't support either! I think Canonical is right on track with their official netbook distro, but nobody is using it except Dell. The ubuntu Remix is officially supported with all the same packages as the x86 version, some slimmed down for the netbook. Why isn't everybody using them? Or at least push up the stuff needed for Ubuntu to support them.

Ever sense Windows got back on netbooks OEMs aren't even trying to put up fake effort... it was just a marketing stunt, when it could have been really cool. Perhaps Android will be the thing needed to put some identity in the netbook market segment.

[Jason @ Jan 2nd 2009 4:48PM]

Seriously, I tried an eee in the store yesterday with the "idiot UI" that Baz mentioned. I don't know what the hell that was, but it wasn't Linux. I've used dozens of distros, none of which were so weakly laid out, AND the damn thing was even crashing.

It felt so weird. For second, I wasn't even sure what to do. I don't normally have to restart a Linux machine.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jan 2nd 2009 5:37PM]

In my humble opinion all OS available at the moment are very primitive tools realized by folks that unfortunately live in a separate world and talk only to other developers.
The mouse & Kboard driven UI has been with us since the dawn of personal computing and since now PC are used for totally different ends than those first mouse&kbs machines , it seems obvious to me that the interfaces and input methods need go through at least a fraction of the evolution that processors, graphics and memory have done.
The best OS is gonna be the one that will let us interact with our machines the way humans have evolved to interact with each other, or at least with the environment that sourrond us.
The next battle of the OSs is gonna be about input: the possibility of giving voice commands, dictating , and responding to gestures.
The technologies already largely exist or are being developed, but it seems that only cell phones makers nowadays have the incentives and/or the balls to explore new technologies at consumer level

[Benson @ Jan 3rd 2009 7:36AM]

@KilgoreTrout:

Well, even we unenlightened developers have long known that the qwerty layout is senseless (it was designed, not specifically to slow typists down, but to prevent _adjacent_ keys from being pressed in succession and resulting jams), and that Dvorak is either as good or better, and qwerty is still in use, so I'm not sure any revolutions in input devices would be acceptable. (Full disclosure: I'm of the opinion that layout doesn't matter significantly once you get good with it; given that premise, straight alphabetic is plainly the most rational, but it's not really worth fighting...)

Moreover, I think the keyboard (layout wars aside) is as good as it gets without hurting approachability for anything except possibly massive continuous text input. Further developments (Kinesis) and alternatives (Twiddler) gain very small acceptance, partly from inertia and partly because their gains in usability come at the cost of approachability.

The mouse is being supplemented by touchscreens and digitizers these days, which I (primitive OS developer that I am) heartily support. When I'm using my tx2000 in laptop config, I find I use the touchpad ~50% of the time, the digitizer ~40%, and the touchscreen perhaps 10%. (If I didn't have the digitizer, I'd say about 60/40 split; the digitizer really is a cut above.) Eventually, as 3D displays become available, 3D input systems (spaceball and friends) will also be more prevalent.

So I do agree with you on the pointing end of things, but I think the keyboard's going nowhere, and direct voice commands and speech-to-text are likely to remain niche for a long time. (If you really think voice commands are the way to run a computer (as opposed to a mobile which you may need to use without both hands), try to verbalize your operations, in an unambiguous way, while doing your normal work with a familiar keyboard and mouse (and hopefully stylus/touchscreen), to come up with hypothetical voice commands -- I'd wager 90% of operations leave you slowing your actions to talk through it. If they're not, you might consider retuning your work environment (window managers, shortcuts, aliases, or whatever's appropriate) to optimize for the 10% of functionality you spend 90% of your time on...)

[Neha @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:57PM]

Fail.

[bluesky_v2.01 @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:10PM]

What?

[Macs @ Jan 2nd 2009 1:59PM]

Super cool

I'd be all over a google netbook

Jizz in my pants

[ProfessorDex @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:20PM]

I hope you have a washable keyboard.

[Andir3.0 @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:35PM]

I hope he doesn't keep his keyboard in his pants...

[Jack @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:59PM]

@connorcam

Nice job posting in 720p! Love that little hack.

[Oli D @ Jan 2nd 2009 6:10PM]

@Macs, i +1'd you on the premise that you were referring to the song...

If your not i'm going to down rank you a thousand times on different browsers....

"I ate a grape and jizz in my pants"

[Theli @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:22PM]

Running Android on a netbook you could get away with a much simpler keyboard layout and screen size. It could allow for a usable 7 inch version. You could also have it running on a mobile processor which ought to improve battery life by a healthy margin.

[ZeRo @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:16PM]

Heck with android, maybe it'll even have built in touch to compete with win7. Now I wonder what would happen if they mixed android with compiz and gave it a little bit more of desktop feel... hmmm

[Chuck @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:23PM]

Android, in it's current state tuned for gestures, it's really not beneficial on a non-touchscreen netbook. Personally I'd prefer a much more complete linux solution.

[Nathan @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:23PM]

I agree. I don't see why you would put a phone optimized OS on a netbook. A more full featured google sponsored and developed Linux distribution would be great. You could even market it as "Android". I think a company like google could help get desktop Linux to really take off as a mainstream OS option. I am no OS fanboy, I own and use all major OS's - OS X, Windows Vista, and Linux (Ubuntu at the moment). I think Linux has a lot of potential but it has yet to utilize it.

[john @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:39PM]

Things I would want fixed/resolved before running Android as a netbook OS:

1) Google Reader is a variant of the mobile version, I want to have at least the following added to it: keyboard shortcuts, the ability to add/edit tags, and the total article count at the top of the article list.

2) GMail doesn't support creating labels, nor adding/editing filters.

3) I haven't been able to get the VNC Viewer to work through SSH with VNC Password. I want/need that.

4) I would vastly prefer if the netbook it as running on had 3G data built in, and Android supported it.

5) I would also really prefer a netbook with convertible/tablet form factor. For example, a Fujitsu U810/U820, with Android on it, would be nice (and with internal 3G).

6) Ideally, rather than "Android", what I would want is "Ubuntu Netbook Remix, with Dalvik", so that I would still have full access to Android applications and such under dalvik but linux apps (like Pidgin as my IM client) under Ubuntu.

[DirtyVegas @ Jan 2nd 2009 2:55PM]

Please, no more screenshots with that darn clock.

[BdgBill @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:17PM]

We don't know whether it's peoples' fear of the unknown or just the awful UI facades typically used to hide the open-source alternative

I'll solve this great mystery for you. People want to run Windows so they can run Windows programs. Nothing made me more accepting of Microsoft's prices than actually attempting to do real work on open source software.

I had to run Open Office for 3 months because my bone headed boss picked up a computer magazine for the first time in his life. Like most open source software it was "great for free". This does not mean it was great. It means it was worth what we paid for it which was nothing.

Open source software is great if you really need something for free but if your computer is a tool you use to make your living, then paid software is well worth the investment.

[neodorian @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:39PM]

Pretty much. I love open source OSes for what they are and I love being able to recommission old machines as web browsing kiosks with lightweight linux installs. That doesn't change the fact that I use Windows not primarily for the GUI or the familiarity but rather because it runs every single program I need to run and it does it well on my choice of components. At some point I would like an Apple machine or a hackintosh so I can run Final Cut Pro but that is the only thing I can think of that would get me to buy an Apple. I have dual booted various linux distros over the years and I have yet to find a single killer app that kept me coming back.

[doomster @ Jan 7th 2009 8:09PM]

I think it depends very much on what you consider as 'real' work. 95% of my work, which is as real as your work, is actually better in an open source environment.

OpenOffice is more than suitable for my needs (occasional word processing and spread sheet use) so paying for the latest version of MS office would be a complete waste of money for me.

However, developing LAMP application is actually under Linux, using free tools like notepad++, eclipse, phpmyadmin, mysql gui apps, etc. In fact I personally find these tools much better than the equivalent commercial products (dreamweaver, frontpage, db2, access, etc)

I can of course develop in windows as well (using the same set of free tools), by installing WAMP. But there are too many inconsistencies, even when using strict XHTML.

So I have a dual boot, windows xp & ubuntu hardy heron. I spend most of my time in linux doing my real work and only go into windows when I'm not doing my real work.

[Jason @ Jan 2nd 2009 5:31PM]

Hey like I said, use what you like. But don't spout BS just because you only know BS, some seriously amazing and cool work is done on free software that you could never achieve on a Windows box (at least not without virtualization).

Hey maybe it's not suited for what you do, or you just didn't bother to figure out how to use it? Who knows? Everyone knows Windows is better suited for number crunching (isn't that what the Mac guy says?). Everyone except top physics and engineering labs who prefer Linux for real number crunching. And of course for graphics professionals there's nothing better than a Mac. I'm sure that's why PIXAR doesn't prefer Macs to Linux.

Look, use what you like. You like windows, great! Use it, but can the bullshit. I mean FUD is so 2008!

[iowef @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:33PM]

It won't neccessarily be about Android replacing PC operating systems.

We'll probably just end up using mobile devices.

Big screens and proper keyboards attached when at home - but little gadgets, running Android, and all our material stored online (and backed up in the case of key material of course).

Flashpoint, you can't see very far...

[shugg @ Jan 2nd 2009 3:36PM]

yesssss!!!!!!!!!we finally found the iphonekiller!!!!!!!!!this is it right.,well it is android.,

[you @ Jan 2nd 2009 4:10PM]

I feel like there isn't anymore room for yet another linux distro on the desktop platform. I feel like ubuntu and fedora have become mature enough as operating systems, and just don't see android breaking into the desktop market.

[GBeatzRecrds @ Jan 2nd 2009 4:30PM]

and you can make it so that the text isn't all huge?

[Jeff Lewis @ Jan 2nd 2009 5:36PM]

"While Windows may be more popular than Linux when it comes to netbooks for a variety of reasons, price certainly isn't one of them. We don't know whether it's peoples' fear of the unknown or just the awful UI facades typically used to hide the open-source alternative"

Allow me to explain. The problem with Linux and Mac proponents is that they don't understand how market forces work. They think that because they have what to them is obviously a 'better' choice, the market will, being rational, obviously abandon their 'inferiour' products and go with theirs. The problem is - that's not actually how it works.

People go with the safest choice - and like it or not, Windows is the safest choice. Why? Well, it has the largest installed base - the most support, the most applications, the most companies making machines designed to run with it.

It's even more entertaining to watch the Mac and Linux groups since they both seem to claim to be 'for the average person' - yet at the exact same time seem to promote entirely different models of what that person is like. The Mac group thinks people want style and 'ease of use' enough to pay more for it. The Linux group, on the other hand, thinks security and low cost is what gets people in their camp, even if it means things are a little more hands on. Those are pretty close to mutually exclusive models.

"My work as as 'real' as yours" isn't really a counterargument because the I'm willing to bet you're wrong - just for one simple reason: you're taking the time not only to READ Engadget - you're taking the time to post a comment about it. That means you already are different because you have enough of a cause to bother getting involved.

NONE of us here represent the 'typical' consumer and anyone here who thinks they do is pretty much deluding themselves.

The average person can and does put up with a lot of things not really working perfectly - along as it's not TOO expensive and works well enough. That's Wndows. It does work well enough for most people - and it's cheap enough for most people.

And this is the important point: most people don't care about things like security or why Microsoft is evil incarnate. They honestly just do not care. They also don't want to buy more than they need if it increases the price. That's why Macs have a hard time. People are frugal.

So when they walk into a store and see a Mac and a similarly configured Windows box for 1/2 to 2/3s the price, they buy the PC. When it doesn't quite work right - they call their friends or get their kids to fix it and they're happy.

As for Linux, it's simple: they get a Linux box - which they bought for EXACTLY the same reason as I just cited in the previous paragraph - but then find that all the software they want can't run on it - or that it has some lame UI overlay that they can't figure out (here's a clue - stop making UI overlays that are designed for touch screens when the computer doesn't have one...) they have two choices - find someone who know Linux (much harder to do) or just take it back, pay the extra $50 and get a Windows box.

Because that's the real price difference: $50. That's far less than the hassles of using Linux.

[Jason @ Jan 3rd 2009 9:30AM]

Gosh, Jeff. It sounds like you're saying exactly the same thing that Tim Stevens already said but just using 10 times as many words and shitting all over your own credibility by being ridiculously dogmatic about it.

But anyway, I know lots of complete ding-dongs who like Linux and Mac just as much as smart people do. They don't know what a PDF is or why the DVD rays changed to blu, but they do find it funny that it's easier to view a MS Word 07 docx file in Open Office than in MS Word 03.

[Ducman69 @ Jan 2nd 2009 7:43PM]

I know its really "uncool" to like Windows, but it has an attractive UI, the greatest driver base for infinite hardware configurations, the largest support infrastructure, enough comparability and flexibility in setup, its easy enough to use with no need for memorizing commands (yet gives power users the ability to use them), and has the largest software base and backwards compatibility of any OS currently available. OSX is really the only other attractive interface userfriendly OS out there, but then you are tethered to a very small selection of hugely overpriced hardware that inside is no different than hte plethora of other vendor's machines that are a fraction of the price, or at the same price boast far greater performance and capabilities such as being used as a media center with BluRay and TV tuners or playing games and the works. So, I'm sure this will get downvoted, but Windows has a heck of a lot going for it, one of them being that it works well on everything from a netbook to a quad-core monster rig.

[Nathan @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:42PM]

I don't think there is one truly great, best ever OS. All have good points, and all have flaws, which is why I don't tie myself to any one of the 3 main choices.

"OSX is really the only other attractive interface userfriendly OS out there, but then you are tethered to a very small selection of hugely overpriced hardware that inside is no different than hte plethora of other vendor's machines that are a fraction of the price"

There is no "Linux" interface unless you are talking about the command line. All the GUI you see is on top of that, and varies from distribution to distribution with multiple window managers and desktop environments (KDE, Gnome, Xfce, Fluxbox, etc). This is one of Linux's great features as well as one of its greatest flaws. So many choices is great but it can also be overwhelming.

As for Apple, I agree that their hardware can be overpriced (I own 3 Macs). I think at the iMac and Mac Mini level the price premium is not that much over a comparable PC, but their notebooks are way too pricey for the specs. The lowest priced 15.4" Apple notebook is the MacBook Pro starting at $2000. If the MacBook (not pro) were offered in a 15.4" configuration, even with the integrated graphics at $1200 I might have thought about buying one over the $800 HP I eventually chose.

"Windows has a heck of a lot going for it, one of them being that it works well on everything from a netbook to a quad-core monster rig."

Mac OS X does this (hackintosh netbook, 8 core Mac Pro) as does Linux. The thing with Windows is that it is all but guaranteed to work with the hardware, where OS X is quite limited as it is not made to work on anything but what Apple sells, and Linux works on a lot of hardware, but there are still many devices that it does not have driver support for. Drivers for Windows are usually provided by the manufacturer of the device, with Linux the drivers are usually written by the community without support of the hardware vendor.

You can really argue either way with the Apple model vs the MS model. Yes Windows supports pretty much all hardware, but this is also why it can be unstable since there is so much that it has to support.

By the way, I'm not trying to come off as disagreeing with your ideas, I'm just pointing out some of my own opinions. Sometimes engadget commenters can get offended when someone tries to debate a different view. :)

[Boards of Canada @ Jan 2nd 2009 8:01PM]

is annyone here have tried windows 7 on a netbook?

[Ferny @ Jan 3rd 2009 2:20AM]

is anyone try english?

[SiXiam @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:22PM]

Hey isn't that the Google OS, that will challenge Windows...

[Félix @ Jan 3rd 2009 10:36AM]

Not quite ...
If I remember correctly Android hasn't been fully opened yet and you can only code java applications for it right ?
So java-only apps are "bad" on a smartphone, but on a netbook ..ouch !
BAAAAAAAD !

There are tons of free distros with high support (mostly derivative from Ubuntu, fedora, etc..) specially optimized for a certain netbook that could own android at its actual state of maturity.

[Ferny @ Jan 3rd 2009 2:20AM]

yay another 10 more eee models...

[arash @ Jan 7th 2009 8:05AM]

linux is great(i work with suse since version 7) but just for some special works, not daily use. i remember 6 months of hard work to install a hsf modem driver. and now android.....you cant do anything with it,you cant go anywhere. just like a toy maybe. so enjoy it as a doll