Acer on Android, Verizon

People should not expect to find Android on Acer netbooks in the near future, executives from the latter company have stated. While HP is known to be testing Android for netbooks, and ASUS and Dell are rumored to be interested, Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci argues that the software is not yet suited to netbook functions. "Android in my opinion is for communications," says Lanci. "And Windows comes at the market from the computing side. An ideal solution would offer both. So right now we are using Android for our smartphone, and we are testing it on our netbooks. But I think everybody in the industry is testing Android on netbooks."

The head of Acer's IT products business line, Jim Wong, adds that he does not like the limitations on Android's web browsing. "For a netbook, you really need to be able to view a full web for the total Internet experience," he comments. "And Android is not that yet."

Lanci has meanwhile said Acer is negotiating to bring subsidized netbooks to other American cellular carriers, beyond AT&T. Though an announcement is expected soon, Acer is currently unwilling to reveal the carrier; the partner is believed to be Verizon, based on the limited number of high-speed networks in the US and a source quoted by Bloomberg.

By Electronista Staff