The First $100 Android Netbook

**topgear** · 24-04-2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

First Android Netbook Costs Just $100

Here it is, the first Android netbook.

We’ve been waiting for Android to hit a device that’s anything but a mobile phone for a while now, but more specifically, we’ve been waiting for an Android-powered netbook. Figuring such a device would make some kind of splash, the first low cost notebook/tablet running Google’s open source OS nearly slipped by us unnoticed.

China-based Skytone this week added the Alpha 680 to its website and presents itself as 7-inch ARM powered, Android netbook that also doubles as a tablet. Specs-wise, it’s not all that impressive, but then again, netbooks aren’t supposed to be impressive machines. You’re looking at a 800x480 7-inch LCD, 128 MB DDR2 (up to 256 MB Optional), 1 GB SSD (up to 4 GB Optional), an ARM11 533 MHz 32bit CPU as well as a capacitive touchscreen.

Judging from the pictures, it also comes in some pretty garish colors, including yellow. While there’s no price on the website (or shipping date for that matter), rumor has it this will cost just $100, which is more than alright for a very low-end netbook.

Source : http://www.tomshardware.com/news/And...hina,7598.html

The 100 dollar netbook is called Alpha 680

http://www.skytone.net.cn/en/product...15&show_type=1

Here are the specs :

vaithy · 24-04-2009, 07:45 AM

The netbook look cool!
But,

How Android which is basically a Mobile phone OS fit in to full blown OS ?
The rumoured $100 rate not found in the skytone website..
Whether IGB Nand flash drive sufficient to hold all your data including your OS?
otherwise I'll buy that one if it come to India for that price..

infra_red_dude · 24-04-2009, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaithy

How Android which is basically a Mobile phone OS fit in to full blown OS ?

Android = Linux kernel + heavily customized JVM + custom C library (bionic) + other enhancements for a cellphone.

The source is available online, I've compiled Android a couple of months ago with a custom kernel for x86 and it runs great in a virtualized environment on my computer. Only thing lacking is the input device driver. As of the default setup only the arrow keys work.

So for the hardware manuf. its no big deal to get the drivers and haf Android up and running on almost any architecture!

comp@ddict · 24-04-2009, 09:34 AM

It looks cute

**MetalheadGautham** · 24-04-2009, 05:15 PM

GREAT!

I have exactly the amount of money (Rs. 5,000) waiting to be spent on a mobile. Maybe accepting my dad's old 1100 wasn't a bad idea afterall

And no this ain't a netbook. A netbook is a subnotebook powered by an Intel Atom processor, while a nanobook is a subnotebook powered by a VIA Nano processor. This is neither. Its just a cheap ARM subnotebook. And I am happy for that.

**topgear** · 28-04-2009, 06:37 AM

First Android Netbook Actually Costs $250

Quote:

Last week we (and just about everyone else) wrote about Skytone’s $100 Android-powered netbook, the Alpha 680.

As the first device running Android, it was guaranteed to get us excited. However, world and dog were all too quick to point out that it wasn’t exactly impressive. That said, for $100, it wasn’t too bad. At the very least, your hundred bucks would get you an Android-based netbook you could tinker with and not feel like you were wasting money you didn’t have.

Over the weekend, a new price started to get around and it seems that the rumored pricetag of just $100 was too good to be true -- about $150 too good. That’s right, according to an in-depth interview with Skytone over on Computerworld, the device will be more like $250. Nixon Wu, Skytone's co-founder said that as volume ramps up, the company hopes for that price to drop. Let’s not mince words, $150 is a big jump, so where did that first figure come from?

It's hard to say. As far as we can tell, the company was aiming to make a $100 netbook, but didn't quite get there. Wu says that the company took direction from Wal-Mart, which pointed them in the direction of the low-cost PC business back in 2006.

"They were looking for ways to build a $100 PC. We had expertise in porting Linux to embedded systems, and so they found us," Wu told Computerworld. "At the end of the day, we couldn't meet Wal-Mart's target, but we continued on this path anyway."

Alright, so it’s 2.5 times the price, you say, but are there any more let downs in store? Well, yeah. The Alpha 680 is definitely ultra-portable. Weighing in at about 1.5 lbs and measuring 8.5 inches long, 6 inches wide and 1.2 inches thick it’s smaller than the EeePC. Last week’s reports of an 800 x 480 7-inch LCD, 128 MB DDR2 (up to 256 MB Optional), 1 GB SSD (up to 4 GB Optional), WiFi and an ARM11 533 MHz 32-bit CPU were true. The part about the touchscreen wasn’t, it seems. While the 680 is not a tablet computer (despite what the pictures on Skytone's website tell us), the Alpha 700, a 1024 x 600 8.9-inch PC with a 500 MHz MIPS processor, and 2 GB SSD drive, is. The tablet will cost between $200 and $250, said Wu.

At the end of the day, this sounds like a bum deal. The only reason we can see anyone paying $250 for an ARM power, 800 x 480 7-inch netbook, with 128 MB DDR2 and a 1 GB SSD is if they really can’t wait to get their hands on Android to mess around with the OS. That aside, I’d invest the extra cash and get an Eee PC or an Aspire One (or less cash in the case of a Mini 9). What do you guys think? All things considered, would you pay $250 for this piece of kit?

Source : http://www.tomshardware.com/news/And...rice,7641.html

Mods please change the thread title to any one of this :

The First $100 Android Netbook but now it's $250

or

The First Android Netbook Costs $250

**MetalheadGautham** · 28-04-2009, 10:35 AM

My new stance: FORGET IT.

Another day another boring gadget released...

Cool Joe · 28-04-2009, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

GREAT!

I have exactly the amount of money (Rs. 5,000) waiting to be spent on a mobile. Maybe accepting my dad's old 1100 wasn't a bad idea afterall

And no this ain't a netbook. A netbook is a subnotebook powered by an Intel Atom processor, while a nanobook is a subnotebook powered by a VIA Nano processor. This is neither. Its just a cheap ARM subnotebook. And I am happy for that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalheadGautham

My new stance: FORGET IT.

Another day another boring gadget released...

lolz

IronManForever · 29-04-2009, 01:25 AM

Damn, I was thinkin of asking my cousin to ship it to me. LOL.

A Dell Vostro A90 at 199$ is a MUCH better deal. Its similar to Dell Mini 9, just that this one is business centered, all-black, and cheaper. And its bee heard that this one has more metal in it, making it a bit more sturdier.

@MetalheadGautham
If this Android Book and similar others arent Netbooks, then its about time the definition be changed.

**MetalheadGautham** · 30-04-2009, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronManForever

Damn, I was thinkin of asking my cousin to ship it to me. LOL.

Quote:

A Dell Vostro A90 at 199$ is a MUCH better deal. Its similar to Dell Mini 9, just that this one is business centered, all-black, and cheaper. And its bee heard that this one has more metal in it, making it a bit more sturdier.

config and link please. INDIA ?

Quote:

@MetalheadGautham
If this Android Book and similar others arent Netbooks, then its about time the definition be changed.

The word netbook itself is misleading. It makes an impression that the device is a pure internet machine.

My PC (old P4) has equal power of netbook and I use it for a lot lot more.

This 1.6GHz atom with 1GB RAM and 80GB HDD and GMA 950 underclocked (similar hence to GMA 900) config can actually DO things.

Do intel ever acknowledge the existance of Counter Strike, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Urban Terror ?