The very first laptop computer powered by Google Android has been unveiled. It was long rumored that Google was going to push Android beyond mobile phones to power laptop computers.
The first Android powered laptop the world has firstly seen comes from Acer. The OS still seems to need a lot of more work to fully run on a laptop, but judging from the first video below, it seems Google is off to a good start. The computer takes about 15-seconds to load up, and seems to not lag at all after it is done initially booting up. The browser also seems to load pages swiftly with correct formatting over HSDPA.
This is Google’s first real try at pushing an OS towards mass adoption on computers. Google’s open source Android OS certainly presents a significant threat to current market leader Microsoft. However, at this stage and in the short run at least, it is unlikely the OS will present any real threat to Microsoft despite Android being completely open source and free for manufacturers to use.
Today, BenQ announced it has plans to offer its first Android smartphone and netbook by the end of 2010. BenQ’s mobile division now only operates in Asia after withdrawing from both the North American and European markets in 2006 due to intensifying competition and slumping sales. BenQ currently only sells Microsoft Windows Mobile powered phones. The new Android powered devices will retain the BenQ brand.
In more gphone news, HTC is rumored to launch its HTC Hero and HTC Lancaster (with slideout QWERTY) smartphones on June 24, 2009 at an annual event in London.