dual-boot
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Console OS will let you run Android on a Windows PC or tablet
Toggling between Windows and Android on a single device? That sounds desirable enough maybe, especially the way Intel describes it, but the quest for a practical mixture of green and blue has had its hiccups. (And that's putting it mildly.) A new project has just arrived on Kickstarter, however, which takes a slightly different tack. It's called Console OS, and it's based on the premise that easy-to-use dual OS's don't need to be baked in at the factory. Currently under development by the same people who brought us the similarly-themed iConsole.tv, this fork of Android 4.4 is designed to run as either a secondary or standalone OS. It claims to be equally at home in touch-based or mouse n' keyboard environments, with compatibility promised for a bunch of recent devices (including Dell's Venue 8 Pro, Lenovo's Miix 2 and Intel's NUC). What's more, since Console OS runs natively on Intel's x86 architecture, it also promises better performance than any virtualized or emulated solution.
ASUS could drop dual-OS devices following pressure from Google and Microsoft
One of the more interesting laptops we saw at this year's CES was a split-personality hybrid from ASUS -- the Transformer Book Duet TD300, shown above. According to the Wall Street Journal, however, plans to launch the device during the first half of this year have been shelved due to resistance from both side of OS camp, i.e., Microsoft and Google. ASUS declined to comment on this when we asked them, but the WSJ's story tallies with an earlier rumor from DigiTimes. The report also claims that sales of two of ASUS's existing dual-OS products, the the P1801 and P1802 all-in-one PCs, are to be suspended due to Microsoft's "new policy" of not supporting dual-boot systems. On the other hand, none of this really jibes with rumors from the smartphone side of the market, where Microsoft is apparently willing to try anything in order to boost the popularity of the mobile version of Windows.
First dual-boot Windows Phone 8 and Android handsets said to arrive by June
Windows and Android are such good pals, they're quite literally inseparable on a number of dual-boot devices. Aside from some old community-driven projects, however, the relationship between Google's mobile OS and Windows Phone hasn't blossomed to a point where they're officially comfortable sharing a smartphone. Well, they better pencil in a bonding session, because The Times of India reports local manufacturer Karbonn is set to launch the first such dual-boot handset by June. With the ink now dry on a deal with Microsoft -- presumably a WP license agreed behind closed doors at MWC -- plans are to offer a range of split-personality devices with professional and tech-savvy types in mind. Perhaps they'll run Windows Phone 8.1 right off the bat, too, given the new version's broader hardware support, and show that you needn't create mutant advocates to tempt consumers one way or another.
Canonical gives developers a preview of a dual-booting Ubuntu and Android future
Choice, friends, is good. Nobody likes being limited to one thing, when instead you could be picking from a plethora, or at least a pair of options. And it looks like Ubuntu is on track to deliver on its promise to offer a duo of operating systems to mobile devices in 2014, as it has released a developer preview of a dual-booting Android and Ubuntu mobile solution. While it's a developer-only release for now -- those familiar with unlocking phones and installing custom versions of Android should be fine, too -- using the feature is pretty simple once installed. No command line wizardry is needed: Simply open up the Ubuntu Dual Boot app and pick which OS you want to show up after restarting your phone. Looking for yet another toy with which to play on Christmas morn? The downloadables await at the source below.
DevJuice: The easy way to set up an OS X Mavericks test environment
OK, this is going to be a "duh" moment for most Mac developers, but apparently there are some people who are having issues with setting up a test environment in which to run OS X Mavericks. I have to admit that I was one of those who first started asking if anyone was having success running the latest Mac OS in a virtual machine under VMWare or Parallels. There are some people who claim to have OS X Mavericks running fine under one virtual environment or the other, although most are being rather closed-mouth about how they accomplished it. So, tired of waiting, I decided to do what I've done with previous releases and just create a dual-boot machine. It's stupid easy to do this: 1) On your OS X 10.8 machine, sign into your Mac Dev Center account, click on the appropriate tab for OS X Mavericks, and then download the OS X 10.9 Developer Preview (click the button, which launches the Mac App Store, and magic happens). 2) While you're waiting for the download to complete, it's time to set up your Mavericks partition. Fire up Disk Utility, click on your primary disk drive and add a partition. I made mine 64 GB (on a 256 GB SSD MacBook Pro with Retina display), named it Mavericks just so I'd be more apt to select it instead of my main drive when installing 10.9, and then let Disk Utility do its thing. This takes very little time, so go enjoy the outdoors while the download continues and try to get some sun. 3) Once the Installer has finished downloading, it should launch itself; if not, go into Applications, find the app named "Install OS X 10.9 Developer Preview" and launch it. Follow the instructions, select the Mavericks partition you created in step 2 as the target for the beta OS and sit back while the installation continues. 4) Now you have a dual-boot 10.8 / 10.9 machine. To boot into one or the other of the partitions, just hold down the Option key while rebooting and select the appropriate one. Of course, that's not particularly helpful if you just have a single development machine and you don't want the irritation of booting in and out of two versions of OS X several times a day. That's why as soon as things are working smoothly with Parallels 8 and/or VMWare, we'll pass along the instructions for setting up Mavericks virtual machines in both of those environments.
AMD's Hondo tablet chip will happily run Windows 8 and Linux, but not Android
Today's business jargon gem: TAM, Total Addressable Market. AMD feels that Windows 8 comes with plenty of the stuff, so it sees no commercial need to make its forthcoming tablet chip -- codenamed Hondo -- play nice with Android as well. Speaking to The Inquirer, corporate VP Steve Belt said it was a "conscious decision" not to go after compatibility with Google's OS, because AMD doesn't want to spread itself into "other markets." What could this mean for us tablet-buyers? No dual-booting Windows / Android magic on AMD devices, for one thing, which is perhaps a shame now that ASUS has shown off the combo's potential. On the other hand, Belt made it clear that Hondo will support Linux, which -- for now, at least -- is more than can be said of Intel's rival low-power silicon, Clover Trail.
ASUS Transformer AiO official: all-in-one PC dual-boots Android and Windows 8
ASUS has managed to keep a tight lid on its Computex 2012 lineup, but it left no doubt about this: it was on the verge of announcing a dual OS (and possibly dual form factor) device capable of running both Android and Windows. Otherwise, we've been left to throw guesses at the wall. Was this to be a Transformer Pad running Win8? A dual-side touchscreen device? Well, friends, you needn't wonder any more. The company just announced the Transformer AiO, an 18.4-inch desktop that runs both operating systems. Unlike the Android-and-ARM-based Viewsonic desktop we saw earlier today, the Transformer AiO seems rooted in Windows 8: it boots into Win8, and transitions into Android only after you press a button. In addition to running two OS', the AiO has dual form factors: you can use it as a traditional all-in-one if you like, or you can detach the screen from the base and use it as a wireless display (slash, an absurdly large 18-inch tablet). No word yet on when this will be available or how much it will cost. For now, we've got an extra photo in the gallery below, along with a walk-through video after the break.%Gallery-156824%
Novero Solana convertible netbook gets flipped by the FCC
If you're excited about convertible tablets but can't wait for the IdeaPad Yoga to arrive, then perhaps Novero's Solana might give you a temporary fix. It's a dinky netbook (yes, netbook) that runs both Windows 7 and Android, but you can flip the display over in its frame to turn it into a tablet PC. It's packing a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600, Intel GMA 3600 IGP Graphics, 2GB of RAM and a choice of 32 or 64GB of solid-state storage. Fortunately, it looks like it won't be long before we get to clench it to our chests since it's now been given the thumbs-up from the assembled experts down in the FCC's underground bunker. For around $800, you too can pretend it's 2009 all over again, just remember to bring the Flo Rida.
Novero's Solana is an $800 netbook running Windows 7 and Android, we go hands-on
The last time we saw the Novero Solana, we were prowling Intel's booth at CES in search of prototypes. Because it was Intel, not Novero, showing the device, the emphasis was on that Cedar Trail processor inside, as well as that kooky form factor -- a netbook with a titling, easel-like touchscreen. What we didn't know then was that the Solana also runs Android, and that it's almost ready for prime time: it's expected to hit Europe and North America within the next two to three months, priced at about €699 or $799, respectively. We had a chance to play with some more polished hardware here at Mobile World Congress, and also see the machine running Gingerbread. Follow past the break for some early impressions or, if it's too early in the US to stomach reading, have a gander at our quickie demo video.%Gallery-149169%%Gallery-149172%
Nokia N9 spotted running Ice Cream Sandwich, dual-boot in the works
This above is the first glimpse of Android 4.0 running on the Nokia N9. Yes, it looks like Ice Cream Sandwich is in being ported to the company's iconic handset by no other than Alexey Roslyakov and team NITDroid -- the folks who previously put Android on the Nokia N900. The project, which is still in its early stages, made significant progress after recently overcoming a framebuffer driver/HAL hurdle, allowing ICS to be displayed on the phone. In addition, a dual-boot solution is in the works letting Meego and Android 4.0 coexist on the device. We certainly can't wait to experience using Ice Cream Sandwich on some of the hottest white hardware around. Can you?
ViewSonic ViewPad 10pi dual-boot tablet hands-on (video)
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10pi was announced here at CES, and according to the company, it'll be in retail stores later this month. This is a scary proposition. Sadly, our time with the tablet was filled with glitches and frustration -- as is, this dual-booter seems entirely unfit for the market. The Android 2.3 environment is nearly unusable and often freezes completely. While this could certainly be resolved with a software update, the hardware implementation is regrettably poor for Android use. Rather than capacitive navigation buttons, necessities such as home, menu and back are located along the edge of the tablet as small, physical buttons. Half the time, they didn't even work. Our fleeting moments with a usable Android environment were generally pleasant, but the system generally locked up after a few minutes. As another black eye, Android Market is nowhere to be seen, which means the Amazon Appstore will have to suffice. We're told that customers will need enable Android themselves, because out-of-the-box, the tablet will only run Windows 7. It's painfully apparent why this decision was made. With a 1.5GHz Intel Oak Trail Z670, we had decent expectations for performance within Windows. Unfortunately, even web browsing was generally unsatisfying. Pinch-to-zoom and scrolling were both rather choppy, and -- as much as this comment pains us -- we longed to return to Android. Windows has never been friendly for touch use, and while ViewSonic has included a special environment that's designed to make applications and settings more accessible, in practice it takes a while to load and is no more useful than a set of well-appointed desktop icons. Another gripe, the included Swype keyboard would often appear at inopportune times, even when there was no option for text input. Priced at $849, we struggle to see much of a value proposition here. While the ViewPad 10pi attempts to be the jack of all trades, in reality it's just one big headache.
VMware Fusion 4 brings full Lion support, wants to make Windows act less like Windows
Leave it to VMware to put the spotlight back on Lion when this is, without a doubt, Windows 8's week. The company just announced Fusion 4, the latest version of its virtualization software, and, as you'd expect, it pledges to play nice with Apple's newly minted OS. In addition to fully supporting Lion features like Spotlight, though, it makes Windows look more like, well, a Mac. The software includes improved support for Expose and Spaces on the Windows side, and adds the ability to use Mission Control and launch Windows apps from Launchpad. Additionally, you can run Lion as a virtual machine within Snow Leopard and VMware makes vague claims about improved performance, 3D graphics and resource-hogging. It'll cost $50 through the end of the year, with the price jumping up to $80 in January. Fittingly enough, VMware picked up on the fact that Apple's moving away from optical drives, and instead chose to ship the software with a USB drive (you can also download it and do the whole drag-and-drop installation thing). Oh, and if you bought the last-gen version of the software on July 20th or later, you'll get the new version gratis. Lots of screen shots below, and full PR after the break.%Gallery-133556%
Team-Touchdroid dual boots Android on TouchPad -- touchscreen not included
The race to get Android working on the now budget-friendly HP TouchPad is on. We've already heard rumors of the little green robot coming pre-installed on the ill-fated slate and we've seen the first CM7 boot, but no one's gone all the way quite yet. While progress is slow, a team of dedicated TouchPad hackers, calling itself Team-Touchdroid, is now showing off a dual-boot configuration with Android 2.3.5. As with CM7, the touchscreen still doesn't work, but the demo video is quite dramatic -- that is until the credits stop rolling. If early-stage flip-flopping OSs are your thing, hop on past the break, but don't say we didn't warn you: it's going to get weird.
PSA: Got a Nook Color? Then you can get dual-booting Nook2Android
Here comes a public service announcement: Eat slower and you'll feel fuller. Oh sorry, wrong one. We meant: Nook Color owners, you can now dual-boot your slate using the specially-created Nook2Android SD card. The card makes installing Android 2.3 a snap and it's now shipping with a dual-boot file courtesy of XDA developers, which means you can choose to boot into the original Nook OS without having to remove the card. You're looking at $35 for an 8GB card, rising to $90 for 32GB. Alternatively, if you're happy to get a bit of oil on your hands, you can try the manual approach. Mmmm, Gingerbread, chew every mouthful.
NTT DoCoMo announces 24 new mobile wonders (yes, really) to flood its network
So, Japan... want a new mobile device? How about 24? This grandiose announcement comes straight from NTT DoCoMo, which commonly lays its cards on the table for the delight of consumers. Among the selection you'll find eight new Gingerbread phones, six incredibly high-res shooters (ranging between 12.2 and 16.3 megapixels), eight waterproof handsets, and one embedded with Swarovski crystals. We're particularly thrilled to see the mighty Galaxy S II, 3D-capturing Aquos SH-12C, 700-nit Optimus Bright (contrastingly-named but nearly identical to the Optimus Black), ultra-slim MEDIAS WP N-06C, and mobile payment-enabled Xperia Acro. Oh, and don't forget about the LOOX F-07C -- a multi-talented handset that's running Symbian and Windows 7 Home Premium -- while two LTE-enabled WiFi routers are sneaking into DoCoMo's party, too. That's a lot to absorb, so check out the source for individual release timeframes, which begin now and continue through August -- or just check out the PR after the break.
NTT DoCoMo's Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)
Yes, 'tis quite a shock for a Monday morning, but it turns out the dual-booting Fujitsu LOOX F-07C smartphone is indeed legit. According to NTT DoCoMo's preliminary spec sheet, this 7.69-ounce landscape slider handles both Symbian and Windows 7 (Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition) with its 4-inch 1,024 x 600 LCD (that's 297ppi right there!), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of LPDDR400 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 32GB of eMMC disk space, and expandable memory via microSDHC. You'll also find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection on the back, coupled by a VGA front-facing camera. Of course, the main concern is how the battery life fares here: we're told that in "mobile phone mode" you get up to 600 hours of generous standby time and up to 370 minutes of 3G talk time; whereas in Windows 7 mode you'll have to make do with just two hours, and then you're forced into mobile phone mode when the battery level is low. If you're itching to get yourself an eccentric F-07C, then watch out for its launch in June or July. Full list of specifications and press release after the break. Update: ASCII's just posted a few real-life shots of this device, and mentions a retail price of around ¥70,000 ($860). Oh, and there's HDMI-out via a USB adapter. Update 2: Akihabara News has a hands-on video -- check it out after the break, and be sure to take a gander at its photos as well.
OtherOS++ brings Linux back to the PS3, taunts Sony
Mourn no more PS3 owners: what Sony hath taken away, the hacker community has given right back. The team at Gitbrew.org have returned Linux to the Cell-based gaming console with OtherOS++, which boasts a number of benefits over Sony's official stab at supporting other operating systems. For one, Linux is no longer relegated to a performance-degrading virtual machine and has full access to the PS3 hardware, and two, it works on both old-school "fat" models and the newer "slim" ones. We warn you, though -- this install is not for the faint of heart, and some older models that use NAND flash instead of VFLASH aren't compatible (check against this list). If you're undeterred, hit up the source link for downloads, instructions, and (most importantly) to stick it to the man.
Dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10 gets Android 2.2 upgrade, patient owners join 2010
Good things come to those who wait. If you bought the dual-booting ViewSonic ViewPad 10, Android 1.6 be damned, we have some good news -- the tablet's getting an upgrade to Android 2.2. Just to refresh your memories, that leap from Donut to Froyo means ViewPad 10 owners will now get updated Gmail, Calendar, Google Maps, Gallery, and YouTube apps, a refined onscreen keyboard, compatabilty with newer applications, and a healthy dose of sorely needed eye candy. New customers can choose one that also runs Windows 7 Home Premium and has 16GB of flash storage ($599) or one with Win 7 Professional and 32GB of space ($679). As for those of you champing at the bit to upgrade, ViewSonic is keeping things interesting by compelling you to download Froyo onto a thumb drive, and then plug both it and a USB keyboard into the ViewPad to install the update. Then again, something tells us the kind of person who would opt for the ViewPad 10 over other ViewSonic tablets might actually enjoy the challenge.
Fujitsu and DoCoMo's new dual-boot handset: Windows 7 and Symbian together at last?
Ever wished you could have a Microsoft main course with a side of Symbian? We haven't either, but if the rumors are true, Fujitsu and DoCoMo are teaming up to unleash a dual-boot device this year that can go from Windows 7 (the desktop OS, not WP7) to Symbian at the flip of a switch. According to the always untrustworthy interwebs, the LOOX F-07C will come with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a four-inch 1024 x 600 display, an Intel Atom CPU, and a 32GB SSD. We don't know if this latest handset with multiple personality disorder is real or not, but we do know its odd couple OS pairing has piqued our somewhat morbid curiosity.
ViewSonic's dual-booting Android / Windows 7 ViewPad 10 tablet now shipping
It sure took 'em long enough, but ViewSonic's dual-booting ViewPad 10 has finally, really, actually made it to America. A few days after the iPad 2 most likely sucked any remaining wind out of its sails, mind you, but it's quite possible that the target market for an Android 1.6 + Windows 7 tablet couldn't care less about a similar one from Apple. If you'll recall, this one's rocking a 10.1-inch touchpanel (1024 x 600), 1.66GHz Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and a version of Android we forgot about in 1994. You'll also find a microSD slot and a copy of Windows Home 7 Premium (with a 16GB SSD) or Windows 7 Professional (with a 32GB SSD). Still interested? Just wait until we tell you all about the $599 and $679 price tags, respectively. P.S. - Yeah, that's OS X shown running on the ViewPad 10 above. No, it won't actually do that in real life.
