Comments on: Google Android: Pushing Ubuntu Off Netbooks?

By: My Site » Blog Archive » Canonical’s Ubuntu to Support Google Android?

My Site » Blog Archive » Canonical’s Ubuntu to Support Google Android? — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:20:10 +0000

[...] time Microsoft releases Windows 7 in mid- to late-2009, the netbook market in particular could face intense competitive pressures between Google, Microsoft and [...]

By: Canonical’s Ubuntu to Support Google Android? - My Site!

Canonical’s Ubuntu to Support Google Android? - My Site! — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:21:27 +0000

[...] time Microsoft releases Windows 7 in mid- to late-2009, the netbook market in particular could face intense competitive pressures between Google, Microsoft and [...]

By: Thibauld

Thibauld — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:23:51 +0000

I cannot agree more with Steve, what will make the difference is the number and quality of applications people will be able to install on their system (which is, by the way, one of the reason we’re working on allmyapps, to make it really easy for *normal* users to find and install new apps on their Linux system).

In my opinion, if Android for netbooks is to be the same as Android for smartphones (= very restrictive and java based), then I doubt it has a chance to succeed in the netbook market… On the other hand, if Android for netbooks becomes more permissive and is to be “yet another distro”, then they’d probably better go hand in hand with Ubuntu imho.

All in all,

By: Vadim P.

Vadim P. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:13:14 +0000

@Abe: notice how ‘intuitive design’ was stressed.

Now take a look at the KDE4 hig: http://wiki.openusability.org/guidelines/index.php/Main_Page
The Gnome HIG: http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/

And guess which is more mature and tested.

By: aikiwolfie

aikiwolfie — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:19:41 +0000

Ubuntu has the major advantage that it’s repositories contain free open source software. Android on the other hand won’t have free applications for much longer. The Android Market is now accepting “paid for” applications.

At the end of the day it all comes down to what people want to use these things for. If MIDs become large portable media devices then I suspect Android won’t be that big a threat. If on the other hand, a polished GUI with slick effects is what people want then Android has it in the bag.

Besides I still get the impression Canonical would much rather be playing in the server market with Red Hat and Novell where they could potentially make a lot more money.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:57:49 +0000

Steve: Yes, netbooks ARE a different market than MIDs. But MIDs are still a poorly defined market that most consumers don’t understand… … yet.

By: steve

steve — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:18:03 +0000

I think netbooks are differnt market to MID’s, why install Android when you can have all the xserver based applications already on the market. There are plenty of light weight desktop managers avalable for Linux now xfce, ice, etc… You can also use KDE or Gnome if the CPU has enough grunt.

Android may work well on small screens, but I would not like to use it on a netbook, because of the application restrictions.

By: tracyanne

tracyanne — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:25:52 +0000

@Deven: The Android is a Linux based OS, just like Ubuntu is, but typically (of Ubuntu users) Joe conflates Linux and Ubuntu as the same thing.

The focus is still Windows XP vs. Linux, like Linpus (based on Red Hat), Xandros, Mandriva, EeeBuntu, etc. Android is just a more well known one, due to the marketing power that Google wield.

By: Abe

Abe — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:52:58 +0000

“Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth has called on his company — and Ubuntu supporters — to leapfrog Mac OS X’s intuitive design within the next few years.”

I believe Shuttleworth has KDE 4.x in mind to replace GNOME on Ubuntu.

By the way, MID and Notbooks both have their own features usage and will constantly compete. What the Customers want done will determine what to purchase.

By: tracyanne

tracyanne — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:11:15 +0000

@Deven, yes the Android is a Linux based OS, just like Ubuntu is, but typically (of Ubuntu users) Joe conflates Linux and Ubuntu as the same thing. The focus is still Windows XP vs. Linux, you know like Linpus (based on redhat), Xandros, Mandriva, EeeBuntu, etc. Android is just a more well known one, due to the marketing power that Google wield.

By: Momu

Momu — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:16:43 +0000

Android is Linux based, but doesn’t use an Xserver, so Linux GUI-Apps won’t work. It will only become a competitor in the netbook market when netbooks come with touchscreens or the app-market for android takes off, which will take at least a year.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:53:47 +0000

Deven: Yes it is. But that doesn’t mean Ubuntu will face less pressure on Netbooks from Android.