OStatic

We've reported on successful efforts to run the Android OS on netbooks and e-ink devices, and on how Android may ultimately be more successful on these platforms than on phones. Among other developments on this front, Qualcomm is running Android on its Snapdragon chipset designed for netbooks and mobile Internet devices. (Another Qualcomm chip powers the G1 Android phone.) Now, in a post called One Step Closer to the Google Linux Desktop, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is analyzing reports that Hewlett-Packard, ASUS, and other computer makers are in talks with Google about putting Android on netbooks.

Although it is still early enough in development that it may not become a shipping product, Asus has confirmed that it has been developing a netbook based on Google's Android platform. Asus' Eee PC division lead, Samson Hu, told Bloomberg that engineers are working on a possible end-of-year release window. We've written before about Cupcake, a version of Android that is friendly to non-phone devices, and there have already been successful efforts putting Cupcake on netbooks. With netbooks all the rage now, Asus is also very focused on lowering netbook costs, even heading for the $200 range. This latest news is good for both Android and Asus.