Over the past couple of years Android has become a well-established player in the smartphone market. This success has prompted many industry analysts to speculate that it couldn't possibly take too long before Google's Linux-based operating system expanded into other areas of mobile computing, notably to netbooks and tablet PCs - especially given the spectacular success of Apple's iPad. As a result, last week's announcement by Acer detailing the product
launch of a series of netbooks in dual-boot (Windows/Android) configuration wasn't a major surprise. But it did create enough attention in tech media; after all, this was the first time a major hardware manufacturer started offering a personal computer pre-installed with Android.
The hardware Things tend to happen fast in technologically advanced Taiwan where Acer maintains its corporate headquarters so it didn't take long before Taipei's retail stores started displaying the first of these dual-boot netbooks. As a curious geek, I needed little convincing and soon I saw myself parting with NT$9,999 (US$324, €232) for an Acer Aspire One D255. This is a 10-inch netbook powered by Intel Atom N450 (1.66 GHz, 512 kB cache), 1 GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard disk, with Microsoft Windows XP and Google Android as the two available operating systems. For those interested in details about the integrated peripherals please see the output of lspci below.
Acer Aspire One D255 - the output of lspci
This was actually the cheapest of the several dual-boot Aspire One netbooks launched last week. While the other models seemed to have slightly better hardware specifications, their higher price was (presumably) also justified by the presence of the newer Windows 7 on them (again dual-booting with Android). Since I have no use for either of the Windows versions, I decided to buy the lower-priced Windows XP/Android combination, rather than the more expensive Windows 7/Android configuration. This article offers a first look review of this interesting netbook, with a focus on the Android part of the dual-boot setup.
First boot Most Linux users will be familiar with the term "dual-boot" - it simply implies that a computer comes with two operating systems and the user can choose which one to load at boot time. But upon the first boot, I discovered that Acer has given the term "dual-boot" a slightly different meaning; the system automatically booted into Windows XP without giving any choice to the owner of the computer. This, as it turned out, was a deliberate decision on the part of the manufacturer - you absolutely have to accept the Microsoft Windows XP licence agreement before being allowed anywhere near the Android part of the deal. This struck me as a rather strange decision, but that's how it is with these "dual-boot" netbooks from Acer.
The last time I used any flavour of Microsoft Windows was about eight years ago, so I largely forgot what it was like to go through the process of setting up a (pre-installed) Windows computer. My patience was severely tested while I kept clicking on a series of incomprehensible screens and when I watched a program installing something, then rebooting, installing something again, then rebooting once more, I had to leave and get a cup of coffee. When I returned half an hour later and when Windows XP finally appeared in its full glory, I was once again reminded of the sad state of affairs in the world of proprietary software - a pop-up screen prompting me to urgently update the anti-virus database, an icon proudly offering a "free" 60-day trial of Microsoft Office... Why would anybody put up with this nonsense at a time when there are so many excellent operating systems available for free download is beyond me...
The desktop But let me get back to the purpose of this feature - a first look at the Acer implementation of Android on its newest netbooks. The user guide included with the computer calls this non-Windows part of the system "Instant-on for Android", which I found a rather intriguing name. Will the operating system really come up in an instant? After reading the guide my expectations were (perhaps unrealistically) high so inevitably I ended up being disappointed. Android booted in 16 seconds. Granted, this compares well with Windows XP on the same machine which takes good 60 seconds to arrive at the desktop with all the default services running, but Acer has once again stretched the definition of a word. What
is instant, though, is the shutdown speed. Since there is no shutdown button anywhere on the desktop, pressing the power button seemed like the only way to turn off the computer and that does happen in an instant. More of a "instant-off" system then.
Android on Acer Aspire One D255 - the default desktop
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The default desktop is fairly spartan. There is a toolbar at the top of the screen with indicators for the keyboard layout, wireless and wired connections, battery status and time. None of these icons offer any tooltips or right/left-click options. There are four application icons at the bottom (more can be added), there is an analog clock widget, a tab that brings up the full list of all installed programs and a peeled top-left corner of the wallpaper with an arrow underneath. Clicking on it brings up a dialog asking the user whether she really wants to switch to Windows XP now. Once again I found Acer's terminology misleading - in this case the term "switch" means simply "reboot". Then again, what was I expecting?
Like on many Android smartphones, there is a virtual desktop on the right and left of the home screen which can be accessed by pressing the appropriate arrow key or by holding and dragging the right mouse button. The home screen can be reached from any place by pressing the Windows key. The running programs are not minimised to a taskbar; instead they are managed (stopped) from Settings -> Applications. Similar to any smartphone implementation of Android, a context menu, which appears as a series of icons along the bottom of the screen, can be accessed with a right click.
Android on Acer Aspire One D255 - the context menu
Applications If the default desktop seemed bare, the number of available applications did even more so. There are two browsers (Firefox 3.5.1 and Mobile Safari), a music player, an image viewer, a (cumbersome) file manager, a handful of desktop widgets and a few configuration utilities. That's it. Now if you are thinking that this is not too bad for a default system and that there are thousands of Android applications available from
the Market and other third-party repositories, you'll be shocked to find out that this isn't the case on Acer's Android. None of the two browsers understands "market://", so there is no straightforward way to install any new applications! In effect, Acer's Android is locked down and impossible to extend (unless you are a seasoned hacker who could probably find a way).
Android on Acer Aspire One D255 - list of available applications
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This was a disappointing discovery. I own an Android smartphone (HTC Desire) and one of the reasons I like it so much is the availability of many interesting Android applications that can be installed with a single click. Why did the responsible decision makers at Acer think that taking this away from the user was a great idea is hard to understand. Did they actually try the Android part of their dual-boot netbooks? And if that wasn't enough, another horror discovery was the inability to use the touchpad to scroll up and down in any application, including Firefox (though, curiously, a mouse wheel worked reasonably well). For this basic function you can either use the arrow keys or you can drag the scrollbar in the relevant direction. This certainly takes away much pleasure from using Firefox, perhaps the only application of any value on Acer's Android!
Android on Acer Aspire One D255 - the settings screen
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Speaking of Firefox (a somewhat surprising inclusion at the expense of Google Chrome), it comes with Google toolbar installed by default and a comprehensive range of plugins, including Shockwave Flash, Acrobat Reader and the MPlayer plugin that will play just about any audio and video format directly in the browser. From this point of view, Firefox is well-configured for browsing any content. At least in theory. Unfortunately, I found that, like on many Android smartphones, YouTube videos and other Flash content don't play smoothly.
Android on Acer Aspire One D255 - the Firefox browser
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Booting from USB drive At this point I came to a conclusion that Acer's Android is far too limited and buggy an operating system to keep it on the computer. But before wiping the hard disk clean (and getting rid of Windows XP as well in one swoop), I thought I'd give it a test by booting into Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook edition from a USB key. This proved to be a much more pleasant experience - the system detected and set up all hardware correctly (including the wireless network and the webcam). Running Ubuntu also provided an opportunity to look at the content of the hard disk which was impossible with Android, since it includes no terminal or other command-line tool. So as a matter of interest, the 160 GB hard disk is divided into three partitions - an 11 GB /dev/sda1 (a boot partition, which also contains images that would restore the system to the original state), a miserly 4 GB /dev/sda2 containing the Android operating system (only 1.4 GB is used) and a whopping 135 GB /dev/sda3 partition containing Windows XP (14 GB is used). So that's how much space (and respect) Android gets from Acer!
Ubuntu 10.10 "Netbook" edition features the new Unity user interface.
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Conclusions The Android implementation on Acer's recently launched dual-boot netbooks feels more like a technology preview than a usable product. It is buggy and inextensible, with no possibility to install extra applications from the Android Market or any other repository. As such, it is limited to basic tasks, such as Internet browsing, web interaction, image viewing and media playback. It's hard to say who the product is intended for - the Windows crowd will take one quick look and never boot into it again, while any Linux geek will surely prefer a proper Linux distribution or one of the netbook-oriented variants. Perhaps the only positive point is that by providing a Linux-based alternative on its netbooks, Acer was forced to build these computers from Linux-friendly hardware components, so there are no unwelcome surprises when it comes to hardware support.
Of course, this is Acer's first attempt at delivering an Android-powered netbook, so one can understand the difficulties of creating a workable solution from something that is much more suited to running on smaller handheld devices with touchscreens. Still, the manufacturer is guilty for making very little effort at customising the product for a 10-inch screen or, indeed, for not choosing to dual-boot Windows with a proper Linux distribution that would be so much more suitable for running on the netbook. Perhaps Acer will realise its mistake and provide a better Android implementation for its next release or it might even deliver online updates that would address some of the bugs and inconveniences. Unfortunately, by that time my Acer netbook will be running a real, full-featured Linux operating system, instead of this bizarre Windows XP/Android combination.
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