Run Android On Your PC From a USB Stick

By Jane McEntegart
published

Eager to try Android on your netbook? Well, now you can.

Before Google announced the Chrome OS, many of us were more than looking forward to seeing how the company's Android operating system would run on netbooks. However, when Google dropped its Chrome OS bomb, we were left wondering about the fate of Android on netbooks. After all, the Chrome OS is being designed for netbooks. What would be the point of Android on anything but phones once the Chrome OS becomes available next year?

With the help of LiveAndroid you don't have to wait to try it out. LiveAndroid has been around for a while now. Originally launched in May, LiveCD allows you to run the Android OS on x86 platforms without actually installing the software. Up until now this was only useful to those with netbooks that actually have an optical drive. However, the folks at LiveAndroid last week announced a LiveUSB version, especially handy for those of you with netbooks or notebooks that don’t have a disc drive.

Anyone willing to give this a shot? Let us know how you get on if you do! You can download the iso file from LiveAndroid's Google Code-hosted project page.

Jane McEntegart
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • trkorecky
    Sounds fun, I'll have to try this out. Great for development purposes.
    Reply
  • Honis
    I'll be nice having a small OS with a good interface in your pocket on the go. I'd use it in place of a netbook if I was a student on campus. Just plug it into a lab computer reboot and you're fully functional (assuming your IT guys were as useless as mine were).
    Reply
  • Nice to have a small OS on a USB stick somewhere, also nice for trying out!

    It's only a pitty the guys split the installation file. (Now I need to install a split/joiner on my pc).

    Nice to try for fun, though I don't think it'll get a lot of attention to be used as fulltime OS.
    Reply
  • adamovera
    this is makin' me wet
    Reply
  • rpmrush
    Still useful to boot in and verify hardware is ok when you have a virus or windows corrupts. I have an XP live disc for this, but it's slow to boot off the cd/DVD drive. A light weight OS on a thumbdrive sounds like a better approach. I'll try it out.
    Reply
  • Uncle Meat
    What would be the point of Android on anything but phones once the Chrome OS becomes available next year?

    Some people like to run applications other than a web browser.
    Reply
  • My Microsoft Virtual PC Console seems to freeze @ the "Live Android" bootup screen (with the green animal, CD, and usb stick and blue background.
    anyone else having this issue?

    I gave it a 2GB HD and 256MB RAM (should be enough!).
    Reply
  • Same happens with an 8Gig HD and 512MB RAM,
    Testing to see if it works on the latest version of Virtual box.
    Reply
  • adamovera
    VirtualBox is A-OK!
    Reply
  • adamovera
    adamoveraVirtualBox is A-OK!
    I set it up as Linux/other Linux.
    Reply