PCFormat Forum Archive

MyBroadband wrote:Can Google unseat Windows on PCs?

In what would be its most direct challenge to Microsoft to date, Google is said to be planning to offer Android, an operating system it developed for smartphones, on a new generation of mini laptop computers. Can Google unseat Windows on PCs?

The market for netbooks — small, low-powered and low-cost notebook PCs — has mushroomed in the past 24 months. Ever since Taiwan’s Asustek introduced the Linux-based Eee PC in October 2007, all the big PC makers, from Hewlett-Packard to Acer, have introduced their own low-cost laptops. The machines typically cost less than R5 000.

The new market segment, which is more than doubling every year according to some estimates, has given Windows rival Linux its first significant market share outside the server computers that power companies’ back-office systems. According to research from Gartner, about 15% of netbooks sold run Linux, against less than 1% for other PCs.

The rise of netbooks has given Microsoft a headache. It has been forced to continue selling Windows XP, now eight years old, because the resource-intensive Windows Vista won’t run well on the low-powered devices. The software maker has worked hard to ensure that the upcoming Windows 7, due out later this year, will run on netbooks.

But Google, which is already a serious threat to Microsoft in Web search and has an array of products that threaten Microsoft’s applications business, is now rumoured to be planning to get into the PC operating system business with Android.

Google isn’t saying what its plans for Android are but the threat to Microsoft is real. Android is based on Linux and is available under an open-source licence, meaning anyone can freely take it and modify it for their own uses. It’s the antithesis of Microsoft’s business model — Microsoft’s software is released under strict proprietary licences that prohibit modification of the underlying code.

Android has caused a big stir in the cellular handset market. Last year, Taiwan’s HTC, which has traditionally focused on making phones that run the rival Windows Mobile operating system from Microsoft, launched the Dream, the first phone running the Google system. HTC is now readying its second-generation Android device, the Magic, which should go on sale soon. Vodacom is expected to launch the Magic in SA, and advance units are already in the country.

Android provides access to a range of online Google services, including Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Maps and YouTube. Google’s entry into the smartphone market is strategically very important to the company given that billions of people who never used the Internet before will go online for the first time from their mobile phones.

Other handset manufacturers are also embracing Android: Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Huawei, Samsung and Lenovo are all planning to build devices based on the software.

But it’s the news that Android will soon be ported to netbooks that has generated the most buzz in recent weeks. According to reports, Freescale Semiconductor is working on microprocessors that run the operating system. Chip maker Qualcomm also plans to help push Android onto netbooks. And Asustek, which pioneered the netbook segment, is also working on an Android netbook.

The idea could fly, given that many of the tools people use on their computers are now available online — e-mail, office applications such as word processing and spreadsheets, and calendaring. With extensive 3G coverage across developed markets and in many developing markets, working online is not the challenge it was a couple of years ago.

Getting Android onto netbooks could be the first step in Google taking direct aim at Microsoft’s core business of desktop operating systems. Microsoft has every reason to fear what’s happening.

First published as the column Technology & You in the Financial Mail of March 6 2009

Microsoft has every reason to fear what’s happening.

SykomantiS wrote:And if you look at this from a gaming perspective?

SykomantiS wrote:Obviously it won't end at netbooks. And have a notebook I game on, It's not the strongest thing ever, but it's stronger than my current desktop.

SykomantiS wrote:I don't think Android would ever compete when it comes to gaming.

rustypup wrote:fascinating... do tell... i'm sure we're all agog to hear how this tale of daring do ends.... do you two "get together" in the end, or can we expect a sequel?

rustypup wrote:do you two "get together" in the end, or can we expect a sequel?

jamin_za wrote:

rustypup wrote:do you two "get together" in the end, or can we expect a sequel?

Brokeback Notebook

That sounds like the kind of story that would keep a 'nix user on the edge of their seat.

UrBaN wrote:shiv, You just killed two seal pups, do you realise this? lol

jee wrote:Why can we not talk about Android and its possibilities in SA - NOT just for gamers - there are many other people out there that would find great use out of this. I am sure it can be used to download/listen to e-books/audio books. Will make a better option than teh Kindle.

jhmmmm