Android ICS Invades Touchscreen Netbook, Mini PC
Launching soon is a touchscreen-based notebook packed with Android "Ice Cream Sandwich," and a USB stick-sized mini PC featuring Android ICS as well.
Two new Android devices -- neither of which is a tablet or smartphone -- were launched on Tuesday, both featuring the Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) flavor of Google's mobile OS. The first actually arrives in the UK in the form of a touchscreen-based laptop/netbook for students, while other launches here in the States in the form of a USB stick-shaped mini PC.
First, we have the dual-function GoNote hybrid from ERGO Electronics which combines the traditional "laptop" layout with a "tablet" style touchscreen. Slated for students, it comes packed with a 10-inch LED-backlit touchscreen (1024 x 600) with 2-finger resistive touchscreen technology. It also features an ARM-based 1.2 GHz Rockchip RK2918 SoC, around 1 GB of DDR3 RAM (depending on model), 8 GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot for adding an additional 32 GB.
The Android netbook also packs a front-facing VGA camera for video conferencing, four USB 2.0 ports, a miniHDMI v1.3 port for sending HD videos to an HDTV, audio output ports and a microphone jack. A Lithium Polymer 900 mAH 3.7V battery promises around 6 hours of web browsing and a standby time of one week. There's also an Ethernet port and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity.
"GoNote brings Android to the forefront of 'work' computing, where its not just about sofa surfing," the company said on Tuesday. "With GoNote, Android gets serious, helping students unleash their ideas, access information, capture their thoughts and maximize their learning potential. GoNote comes with an Office suite pre-loaded so users can create, edit, collaborate and save Microsoft Office format Documents, Presentations and Spreadsheets to the GoNote’s onboard storage or to the Cloud. GoNote also comes with Google Play Store, giving users access to 400,000 Android Apps to help them learn, interact and relax at the end of the day."
The GoNote notebook will actually launch in September in black or white models for £149.99 each, or around $237 USD. So far there's no word on if the device will be offered here in the States.
Over on Oval Elephant, the company is now accepting pre-orders for an Android-based Mini PC for a cheaper $89.99 USD. Measuring just 3.50 x 1.30 x .63-inches, this stick-sized PC packs a dual-core Cortex 9-based Rockchip RK3066 SoC clocked at 1.2 GHz (up to 1.6 GHz), an integrated Mali-400 GPU supporting 1080p video, 4 GB of internal storage, 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, a microSD card slot for an additional 32 GB of storage, Ethernet and 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, a USB 2.0 host port and one HDMI 1.3 output jack.
The Android 4.0.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich" installation is supported by Google, meaning users will have access to the search engine's services like Google Play, Google Maps, Gmail and more. The included accessories consists of a USB to miniUSB cable for power (unit does not come with A/C power adapter), and a female/male HDMUI extender cable. Oval Elephant sells an additional 5w 2A USB Power Adapter for $1.89.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
This Android-based Mini PC stick is expected to ship around September 6. To pre-purchase the device now, head here.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
-
greghome Removing Windows.......even starter would remove 30USD off the pricetag, so kudos for them :)Reply
-
teh_chem Android is fine for entertainment/media-consumption devices. For anything else (note, productivity devices), it fails miserably and won't do much to displace windows anytime soon outside of media-consumption purposes.Reply -
house70 " A Lithium Polymer 900 mAH 3.7V battery promises around 6 hours of web browsing and a standby time of one week"Reply
It's actually 9000 mAh; to get that much out of a 900 would have been nothing short of a miracle. -
zzz_b The screen resolution is not good enough! I would never get one because of this.Reply
You have a more versatile form factor if you get the Asus and the keyboard for it. -
greghome Tomfreaknow it is netbook, soon will be laptop, then desktop.Reply
"Google, even though you have enslaved a third of the world's population, you're still a damn fine search engine" ~Lisa Simpsons -
math1337 Personally, I'd rather have an android desktop than an RT desktop.Reply
For now, x86 is still king. When google finishes making android into a fully functioning multi-user multi-monitor windowed OS for desktop, I will gladly drop windows.
Phones-getting more powerful and customizable
Windows-getting less powerful and customizable. -
atmos929 there have been android mini-pcs already available in Chinese sites for months! >_>... and also android based media players, which would pretty much be the same except the fact that media players feature more video output options..Reply