Switched On: When netbooks suffer from 'Droid rage
posted June 16th 2009 6:13PM
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Despite powering only a handful of handsets available on the market, Android has already had a significant impact on the competitive landscape in smartphones. Looking at its primary rivals that run on a variety of hardware from multiple manufacturers, Android has provided a free and highly customizable licensed challenge to Windows Mobile, And competition with the Google-developed mobile operating system may have also provided the final push of Symbian into the world of open source.
Just because Android has turned the tables, though, does not mean it should be used on devices that rest on them. Recently, the infatuation with Android has led to much speculation and supplication regarding the operating system as an alternative on netbooks and less proven "gaptops" that live between the smartphone and the notebook. But while blazing benchmarks may erase any speed records set by netbooks running Windows, they can't erase what amounts to a weak case for Android on these devices.
Recent history shows that the overwhelming majority of consumers want Windows on their netbooks. This has become especially true as the market has shifted from the quasi-appliance like original Asus Eee, with its suboptimal 7" screen, to most netbooks running 10" and now even larger screens and vendors such as Dell and HP that are pillars of the Windows hardware world have grabbed market share. Even these manufacturers have more to gain by going with their own twist on Linux. HP, for example, has created a unique and differentiated experience with its Linux environment for netbooks. It will take some time before various Android implementations are so unique. It's unclear why an Android-based netbook would fare much better than Linux-based netbooks have.
But if there really are some good Android apps that would be at home on a desktop, that's still not necessarily a strong argument for using Android as a primary netbook operating system. An alternative and more promising approach being offered by Canonical, which develops Ubuntu with its open source community. Canonical plans to enable Ubuntu to run Android applications, which might appear in windows within the host Linux OS. And if netbook makers want that Google halo around their product, they can install the gOS operating system. While it is not developed by or endorsed by Google, it certainly features Google's properties while being free from the "with Google" branding restrictions.
Finally, there are the smaller devices that may be pocketable or lack a keyboard. Call them MIDs or smartbooks. Android is a better fit for these devices since their form factor and usage are more similar to those of smartphones, and Android may become a great enabler for manufacturers of portable media players looking to offer more of the versatility we are seeing from the iPod touch and soon Zune HD. The open question here, though, is how large this market will become as cheap touch-screen smartphones continue to proliferate.
So stick with smartphones, Android. There's lots of opportunity there for the near-term, and as the screens and market share of Android devices grow, they may just encourage development of more kinds of applications that would cross over better to the laptop world. Today, though, Android simply lacks the muscle, momentum, and marketplace to be a strong contender on netbooks.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at market research and analysis firm The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On are his own.
EH. Tell us something we don't know.
Yeah I never understood who would think that an open source OS would make a netbook better. A netbook is still a PC and a netbook running XP seems pretty sweet to me. In other words, I wouldn't put an OS made for smartphones on my computer.
A "thin" OS, like Android, makes sense on netbooks/smartbooks. Sure there is a use case that supports a "thick" desktop OS like Windows (for office apps, etc.), but there is also a use case for:
- fast boot & run-time, always-on operation
- super long battery life
- touch-optimized UI
- smartphone functionality (cell phone calls, SMS/MMS, LBS, etc.)
- low/no OS cost & maintenance
- ...
Hopefully, both categories of devices will co-exist, so users can buy the device that fits their specific needs.
Adding to my previous comment:
Android-based smartbooks/netbooks are likely to be VERY popular with mobile operators, because they will be able to generate revenue from:
1. data contracts.
2. phone calls & SMS/MMS.
3. app purchases (e.g. operators get a cut from Android Market app sales).
4. value-added apps & services that leverage the capabilities of these "smartphone-like" devices.
Much like smartphones, Android-based smartbooks/netbooks are likely to usher in the era of inexpensive/free computing devices, in exchange for always-on, wireless data subscriptions.
Android won't last. There won't be a "Windows Mobile 7" because Windows 7 will soon run on... well let's call them portable communications devices. We'll walk out of our house into our cars and to our offices carrying one device that bluetooth connects to KVMs anywhere we live and work. Android just isn't developed enough to replace a desktop environment, and the hardware is just going to outpace the development of Android.
Course it might not but it will be a hard fight against the ubiquity of Windows.
Thanks @HereAndNow ... it drives me crazy that people keep trying to cram this appliance idea into the mold of a full desktop replacement laptop. That's just not what we are talking about. Your list hits it dead on. Someone make that and I will give them $200-300 right now.
@KM
Who's to say Androids development won't keep up with hardware?
The Android OS is really just the Dalvik VM and a tailor made C compiler. Making it very adaptable to different environments, plus it currently runs atop a Linux kernel which can make it very flexible when speaking of hardware.
Plus if I'm not mistaken, Microsofts biggest issue right now is Open Source and Windows is nearly irrelevant thanks to the fact that people are increasingly using the web to do their everyday computer tasks.
And last the future you speak of was already made irrelevant thanks to what the web is capable of.
I have to agree with HereAndNow (and disagree with KM).
Too many people are seeing netbooks as 'cheap laptops'. And that's fine if ti works for them. However, netbooks should be viewed as cheap connected appliances. Thin clients to online applications. These applications require bigger screens and better input than a smartphone can provide (e.g. word processing, photo editing, etc.). With sufficiently ubiquitous and speedy Internet connectivity, all your work and information can be 'in the cloud' -- meaning access from all manner of targetted appliances: your smartphone when you're out and about (to get contact details, view photos, pull music, etc.), or your car when driving (music, pre-planned routes, etc).
We're clearly not at that stage yet, but we will be. Lugging around 10 different versions of the same data will seem anachronistic. Currently, Windows is not well placed to do this; but maybe Android is -- certainly it integrates with Google's 'cloud' applications very well, and allows access to the same data (especially if you have an Android smartphone too).
So, for now, I see room for both types of netbook. In the future, I only see sense for one. I for one, welcome our cloud based overlords...
Totally agree. I don't see myself wanting a netbook with android. They are trying to squeeze out too much from it. If it was a full on operating system like Ubuntu, then yea, they could do that, but you don't go up with an OS, you go down. So if it's a PC OS, it could be a phone OS later, but not the other way around.
Android makes a perfectly good "browsing appliance" environment, something that is mainly used for web browsing, email access, instant messaging and media playing. Basically anything that doesn't require Office and platform applications. It now offers a simplified experience, and with time will get richer. The main problems with netbook-oriented Linux distros is they are too complex, and indeed Windows is too complex for this category. So I think some insight is lacking in this article.
uhhm no... there are 100ds of light linux distros with its massive community and expandability it will never be better than android for example Go Os or moblin
then linux* ^ ^
Alex: Umm. Android IS Linux. It uses a Linux kernel. And, speaking as someone who has been running Linux on the desktop and server for over a decade, it could easily be better as a lightweight system than a typical distro, which tries to herd a bunch of apps together that really don't want to get along, and all want to be full featured.
(why does Engadget's comment system suck so much? It's not rocket sciences. Cripes).
I'm an Ubuntu user, and my feeling is that, if anything, the original Linux distros which shipped with netbooks were TOO simple. The reality is that when people see a notebook shaped device, they expect to be able to install and run the programs they are used to. That is partly why Linux has such a problem displacing XP on the desktop, and why a simplified version of Linux is going to do even worse than the full desktop Linux in the netbook category
Where I think Linux will do well is in connected appliances like MIDs. There people don't have any expectation of Windows (or Windows Mobile/CE), and the UI can be tailored to the smaller screen real estate.
At Computex nVidia said they had already inked carrier deals for the end-of-2009 distribution of their Tegra-based Windows CE-based Smartbooks which can run Firefox and Flash (albeit pending). This is an essential part of the distribution strategy as the subsidized pricing is likely to be low to free, and may be enough to give these devices a foothold. But longevity ultimately depends on applications. With some tweaks Ubuntu MID (my preference) or Android would be a perfect fit for this class of device.
Android is just a specialized linux for Google's cell phones, no more, no less. It's not a full Linux distro and it cannot compete with full blown OS's like Windows, OSX, and desktop Linux. I'm not sure why anyone would be interested in trying to use Android on a netbook... if they want Linux that bad, there are plenty of options that will provide a much more robust OS experience.
Andoid on netbook (or any other laptop) = bag of hurt
Well said. For a start you can only run Android software. It doesn't have X11, or even a standard C library, so there's no way you can run standard linux apps.
When will netbook makers learn people that they don't need to make crap 'customised' environments. A standard Ubuntu/Red Hat/Suse install will always be best. Actually I reckon puppy linux would be awesome for netbooks since it can run completely from RAM.
Dual boot: Windows with 2GB RAM and Android for Instant On. You get power when you need it.
Look, what you guys wants exists, right now. Go buy one of the current XP or Ubuntu netbooks. My girlfriend just did that, got an MSI Wind and uses it as her primary. Good, we like choice.
That's not what I want. That's not what my cube mate at work wants... we both want a small, light, cool (as in heat), long battery life appliance to read and do email on.
Why is this so hard to understand?
@Jagster sorry but thats absolutely wrong
android is not made for google phones... its for any phone
none of the ~20 android phones being released this year is a google phone
the g1 was not much more than a proof-of-concept
another thing to keep in mind is that google will (very likely) never develop android into
being a netbook os companies like asus and acer want to do that and since they are
members of the oha they are free to do so
also android is neither a linux distro nor does it promote open source applications
its a specialized phone os based on open source but meant to be used
as a commercial platform just like windows mobile or the iphone os
Go Away, the iphone has nothing to do with this article.
THIS IS WHY WE DON'T HAVE NICE THINGS.
Jeez man... it's barely out there and happening.
Why not wait and see...
Your argument here seems to be that previously users have chosen windows so there is no point in giving them any future choice.
The failure in the logic comes from the assumption you're making that no operating system will ever equal windows for power and familiarity.
So - users will always continue to choose windows in this scenario.
If 'Android' becomes a popular phone OS and gets some scaling then I think people might pick it.
99% of the people don't know what linux is or want to know.
It's a steep hill.. but I say let them climb it.
You know what they say.
"Competition is Good!"
- mike
FTP: "Recent history shows that the overwhelming majority of consumers want Windows on their netbooks."
I could argue that they "NEED Windows" as opposed to "WANT Windows". ;)
And that's why I have a problem with Microsoft...
Of course its going to be faster than windows when you run a mobile phone OS on a computer...
Who says Android isn't scalable in the future, with various build options for various devices? The fact that this OS is being ported onto devices it was never originally intended for (and functioning to some degree) should continue to encourage us (developers & users alike) to push the limits of what Android can do.
Stop me if I'm wrong (really, please do) but I don't hear much from Symbian being put on Netbooks. I haven't seen windows mobile shoved onto a Netbook either and of course there aren't many advantages to doing so, but it just goes to show what a remarkably scalable and configurable OS Android really is.
@Slick: "I haven't seen windows mobile shoved onto a Netbook either"
So you're new to Engadget? Welcome.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/02/video-tegra-based-mobinnova-elan-running-windows-ce-on-tegra-ro/
(just one of many examples)
Palm was working on something like this called the Folio. What OS it ran I do not know, but I'm sure it wasn't Windows. It was canned at the last minute.
A company called Celio has a device called REDFLY, which kinda-sorta turns your WinMo phone into a netbook. Not sure how successful that product is.
So, putting Andriod on a netbook... Sure, why not? Dunno how well it'll work out, but we won't find out until it's tried.
Apple should sell a netbook running Android. That would certainly be different than the rest of the market.
"It's unclear why an Android-based netbook would fare much better than Linux-based netbooks have."
Could it be because Android has a simple, easy to use desktop GUI (considering Linux is its foundation)? Why has the last 10yrs been the year of the Linux Desktop?
That's why Android has fared better than Linux. Moblin is heading down the same path (a highly custom Linux distro, like Android).
Lets play a game, if you drool over iPhone's u r a Homo, and if you already are a homo, then u r straight!! lol.
I'm not so sure I agree with the author. I think the target audience is a really key factor here. "Smartbooks" running android based on Tegra would be ultra thin, fanless, have absurdly long battery life, and be very inexpensive. Think of college students, for example. They could use a smartbook all day (maybe all week) before a charge is needed and have a very snappy OS with quick boot and shutdown times. it would be so light they could carry it in their bag like any old binder and be completely silent during lectures. They could use google docs as their office suite and be able to leverage the android market for a few fun games and apps during boring lectures. All of this for about $200 would be a hot piece of technology that overcomes all of the disadvantages of a netbook for general student use. It would even handle HD and streaming flash video sources better than today's netbooks due to the open screen project and Tegra's 1080p abilities...
*wipes drool off of face*
I agree that Android really doesn't have a place in mainstream Netbooks, but a device like you're talking about would be perfect for students at all levels honestly. Notes, lectures, worksheets, homework, textbooks, all available "in the cloud" so to speak, with minimal storage and multiple connectivity options would be ideal. Imagine a paperless school, how awesome would that be? Though inexpensive I can only imagine on a national scale what kind of a budget that would require...
What I don't get is why isn't a smartphone running Android as you describe available for $200 without a subsidy? I just don't think they can get to that cost without having to sign a contract, particularly for a new, untested class of device.
college students? perhaps if you're an english major that does nothing but read.
The college students I know would quickly dump netbooks for something more powerful. Why?
1. Games
2. Finite element analysis, simulations, etc
3. picture/video/music editing
Though there were certainly a lot of kids in computer labs doing work, the vast majority prefer working at their own personal machine.
In my case, I know no netbook would have lasted as my primary computer for more than my first 2 weeks of undergrad.
I don't see netbooks as the primary computing device of anyone who does serious amounts of work on a computer. Perhaps if netbooks could go back in time 10 years. . .
Don't know about the games or the personal use (i.e. video editing etc) but for the simulations, math stuff etc, if the low-power PC cant handle it, they can run a remote server system with a lot of CPU (maybe even some sort of cluster) that can handle some of that stuff and feed it to the users over a web interface.
I think this is simple.
Android makes sense when there is an Andriod AppStore that hosts mobile specific apps that make sense on a netbook. That is what makes the iPhone work and that is what will make netbooks take off in a much larger way. Right now Windows is popular due to the software available--but I ask this--how many Windows apps really make sense on a netbook compared to mobile apps (like games, etc.) that could be made available on android?
Andrioid without an AppStore makes no sense.
Andriod has an app store called Android Market. As for the assertion that netbook apps should come *before* the hardware, well that's insane. Why would someone write an application for a platform that may or may not ever exist?
Maybe you should remember that us college students need GOOD QUALITY APPLICATIONS such as Microsoft Office and support for much software such as statistics programs. I am not interested in a near useless item. Besides... $200? As opposed to a useful XP one that may cost... what... $220? C'mon. All they are saving is $20 off a XP license and it is not worth it. In fact since XP will ship on this one, it will have no cost savings at all.
Damn I meant to reply to TSellers. Engadget: FIX YOUR COMMENT SYSTEM PLEASE!
An XP based laptop/netbook will not cost $220. A last gen netbook is more like $375 with just 1GB of ram. XP netbooks are also slow and can not run on a tegra based platform (Windows mobile can, not XP). They can also be quite chunky unless you go for an Eee seashell, which is more like $450, and all XP netbooks rely on fans to cool themselves. The batteries will not last through a full day of classes. Don't forget your $100 MS Office license.
i will concede that you will not have microsoft office, but why can you not have a decent (and cheap) desktop PC in your apartment for Office and your statistics software and use your cheap and awesome Android smartbook to take notes with Google Docs and then pull them from your google account on your desktop PC when its time to write a paper?
An android smartbook is not a full desktop replacement any more than an XP netbook is. Try and use one as your main PC and you will not be pleased with its performance.
@TSellers gets it :)
ermm...why buy a 'cheap desktop to leave at home' and carry around an android smartbook to carry around?? This blows away and cost savings made by buying the smartbook in the first place. Netbook really dont get that hot and I am sure if you are carrying them around all day you can carry around the mains charger as well. I am sure you want have trouble topping up the battery during the course of the day.
I don't think the advantages of having a lightweight smartbook that isn't fully functional beats the advantage of having most of the apps you may need at your disposal on a netbook.
Lets see what MS are going to do with WinCE come next year if these smartbooks do take off.
Therein lies the rub. Microsoft (or I) can't really see the need for an desktop style embedded OS for devices with this form-factor, or they would have rushed into with the guns blazing. As it is they have Windows XPe and Windows CE with a componentized desktop UI they could trot out at the drop of a hat.
If a market does develop you can bet they will enter into it with a vengeance. They've learned their lessons from their old and now extinct line of Handheld PCs.
hey engadget! skyblaze here tryna make a comment and shizzle... what gives with my old email account? everytime i try and post something all i get is a yellow bar saying:
"You did it!
An e-mail has been sent to confirm your e-mail address, as well as a password for you to use if you comment regularly. Click on the link within the e-mail to activate your comment and password!"
whats the deal?? i can log in and out of my user page, but i cant make any more comments! i just got my N97 and all and wanted to tell the community ya digg! ya gotta fix the comments, man... goin into withdrawal here :(
Skyblaze... Me too, just got ma N97... Infact am typing this on it... Its a Really awesome phone!!!
"Even these manufacturers have more to gain by going with their own twist on Linux. HP, for example, has created a unique and differentiated experience with its Linux environment for netbooks."
And that my friends is the problem. These manufacturers need to stop messing around with different Linux builds by putting their own customizations on it. People dont want that. They want what they are used to or something they wont have to re-learn.
Linux has a hard enough time staying/being relevant. You dont have to screw up the distros even more by putting your own spin on them. But thats Linux for you. Its really the best & worst thing about it.
"Indeed, the experience might well be worse. Android is designed for mobile phone"
Go check your sources, android isn't designed for mobile phones. It's a platform open for anything; Mobile Phones, Car Computers, TV set-top boxes, Netbooks, hell, even your fridge could be running android. And because it's linked to you google account everything is synced, and it's easy. Not everyone knows how to create an exchange server. If google opens up the syncing, the possibilities will be endless. Imagine (in the near-future) your fridge and phone running android, all products have RFID-chips and your son drinks the last bit of milk. Your fridge notices this and sends that information to your google account, you get a notification on your phone or your netbook or some chip implemented in to your brain (taking the term "android" a bit to seriously).
And I think the reason people like Windows more than Linux is marketing. Everyone (except for my grandma) knows Windows, everyone with a computer knows Google. Google has the money to do some advertising about android, and if they do it in an easy way to understand there is a big chance they will succeed in beating the crap out of windows. The PCs and Note/Netbooks are cheaper (android is free), easy to understand OS (arguable, but IMO it's easy) and the syncing.
I might sound a bit of a fanboy here, and maybe I am. But this is what I think, Windows is a great OS in terms of appsupport and NO OTHER OS will ever feature the same amount of apps.
Spot on, except that everyone knows Windows because that's what comes with the PC. My Mom doesn't even know the name of the OS. She just knows that my laptop isn't like her old PC and her laptop is different from mine. To most people, a PC is all those computers that aren't Macs. And even if you show them Linux, it's probably just a skin, right?
Well said. I just can't see how anyone shelling out $300-600 and accept it running a dumbed down OS that is only good for browsing and instant messaging. Although netbooks are small and cute, they are still computers and thus people want to run a computer OS on them as opposed to something that is "simple" and will result in a crippled and subdued computer experience. I mean, would anyone want to run android on their desktop? probably not. People use their netbook/netbook for similar tasks they run on their work machines.