Wondering just how that Acer Aspire D250 that dual boots Windows 7 and Google Android works? Wonder no more. Pierre at Blogeee managed to get his hands on one, and he’s posted an unboxing video.

The video will make a lot more sense if you happen to speak French. But even if you don’t. you get a good look at the laptop (which looks pretty much like any other Acer Aspire D250) and the boot sequence.

In a nutshell, the laptop boots first into Google Android, which takes just a few seconds to load. From Android, you can get online, load a web browser, and perform some other activities. You can also launch Windows 7 from within Android. There does not appear to be an easy way to boot directly into Windows 7. You have to go through Android first. So if after playing with Android for a while you decide you’re never going to use it, you’re going to either want to suspend or hibernate your computer instead of turning it off to avoid loading Android at boot… or get your hands on a Windows 7 installation disc and wipe Android.

On the other hand, if you decide that Android meets all of your needs and you never want to load Windows 7, you don’t have to. You still end up paying the license fee as part of the price of the laptop, but you don’t have to actually use the software.

You can check out Blogeee’s hands-on video after the break.

via Netbook Choice

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Acer is preparing to unleash its first netbook running the Google Android operating system on the world before the end of the year. The netbook will be an Acer Aspire D250 laptop which will actually dual boot Google Android and Windows XP.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure there’s a huge demand for netbooks with both operating systems, since you’ll end up paying for the Windows license anyway. An Android-only netbook would undoubtedly be cheaper. But I suppose it’s nice to have the full capabilities of Windows when you need them, but the ability to load a fast-booting, low power OS when you just need to do some light weight tasks and want to prolong your battery life.

Anyway, PC World is reporting that the dual boot Aspire One D250 should be available worldwide sometime in Q4, 2009. And you can already pre-order the laptop from Amazon for $349.99.

via Netbooked

ePrice

Just over a week after a Chinese web site posted some hands-on impressions of a pre-release version of Acer’s upcoming netbook loaded with the Google Android operating system, Gizmodo is reporting that Acer’s Android netbook will be available to the general public by November.

The laptop will likely retail for around $300 to $350, which is about what Acer charges for its current 10 inch netbooks. The reason is because while Google Android is available to Acer and other computer makers without a licensing fee, Windows isn’t. And this computer is going to dual boot Android and Windows. Acer wasn’t ready to take the risk of launching an Android-only netbook that may not appeal to consumers.

The move kind of makes me wonder what the point of installing Android at all is… especially considering it’s an operating system designed for cellphones. Google’s Chrome Operating System which is designed for netbooks is expected to be available early next year.

ePrice

It’s never really fair to post a full review of a device before it’s been officially released because it’s hard to determine how many of the issues you have with the hardware and software are due to the pre-release nature of the product. With that in mind, the folks at Chinese web site ePrice got their hands on an Acer Aspire One D250 netbook that can dual boot Windows XP and Google Android and they’ve posted a sort of pre-review.

Here’s the short version: Google Android boots in just about 20 seconds and shuts down almost instantly. You can choose either Android or Windows from the boot screen. But Acer doesn’t appear to have done much (yet?) to optimize Android for use on the netbook. In other words, it still works like a cellphone operating system with programs opening in full screen mode.

Acer has also removed access to the Android Market, which makes downloading and installing new applications more difficult. There could be a good reason for that: most Android devices have ARM-based processors, while the Acer Aspire One D250 has an Intel Atom CPU. It’s possible that some programs designed for smartphones won’t play so well with the netbook, but I haven’t tested this theory yet so I could be way off base.

You can find more pictures at ePrice. Keep in mind, it’s possible that Acer could tweak the software significantly before releasing this netbook… if the company ever does release it.

via SlashGear

Acer is reportedly preparing to launch a netbook that runs both Windows and the Google Android operating system as soon as next month. Digitimes reports that this will make Acer the first major computer maker to bring an Android-powered netbook to market, even if it’s possible that some users will never boot into Google’s operating system, first designed for cellphones.

Acer first announced plans to develop a dual boot Windows/Android netbook at Computex in June. While Android is available to PC and cellphone makers for free, it’s not really optimized to run on netbooks. A number of companies do seem to be porting full desktop applications like the Firefox web browser to run on Android netbooks. But rather than ship a new computer with an operating system that hasn’t really been market tested, Acer is taking the safe route and shipping a dual boot system first.

If Android proves popular with consumers, perhaps we’ll see cheaper Android-only powered machines from Acer down the road. Or maybe this’ll be a one-of-a-kind deal and the next Google-powered Acer product will be running Google Chrome Operating System. Unlike Android, which is designed to run local and web applications on cellphones, the recently announced Chrome OS is designed specifically for netbooks and is expected to primarily to run web applications.

Acer is the biggest computer company to come right out and say it would ship a netbook running the Google Android operating system this year. The top 5 computer maker has already said it would have an Android netbook available by the third quarter of 2009. And Acer is showing off a demo of Android running on an Aspire One D250 at Computex. But Android is still a new mobile operating system, and it’s virtually untested on netbooks. So it looks like Acer is hedging its bets. The first Acer netbook to run Android will also dual boot Windows.

Acer chairman JT Wang basically says that consumers are familiar with Windows, which makes a dual boot system a much safer bet. If it turns out there’s a large demand for cheaper Android-only netbooks in the future, Acer will be happy to accommodate.

So the question is, if you were to purchase a netbook that can boot into either Windows or Android, would you ever use Android? Sure, the operating system will boot a little faster. But for the time being there are far more applications available for Windows than for Google Android.

via Engadget

The OLPC project is resurrecting its “give one, get one” program that allows end users in developed countries to purchase the XO laptop which is designed for children in developing nations. The idea is that you pay about twice the cost of an XO and you get one while another is donated to a young person.

Last year the price tag was $399 and you could order directly through the OLPC web site. This year Amazon will be handling the sales. It’s not clear if the price will be higher or lower this year. On the one hand, production costs have probably come down a bit. On the other hand, OLPC is expected to release a version of the XO laptop that runs both Linux and Windows XP in the next month or two. So you might be able to pay a few bucks extra to get a dual boot XO.

Running OS X Leopard on an MSI Wind is old hat. But triple booting OS X, Windows XP and Vista? That’s something I hadn’t seen before. So here’s a video from seamonkey showing all three operating systems living side by side:

It’s worth keeping in mind that this is an upgraded unit with a 250GB hard drive and a voided warranty. The version of Windows XP has also been nLited, which means some programs or processes may have been stripped away, resulting in faster boot times.

But overall all three operating systems load surprisingly quickly and seem to work pretty well with 1GB of RAM and an Intel Atom CPU. OS X doesn’t recognize the WLAN card, but you can buy a USB WiFi adaptor that should work. Seamonkey recommends the ASUS WL-167g.