Google believes that its Android operating system will be better suited to netbooks than Windows 7. The company said that, unlike Windows 7 Starter Edition, Android will not restrict netbooks to running just three programs.
Microsoft's restriction has been heavily criticised and netbook manufacturers are reportedly considering installing Windows 7 Home Premium Edition on their products, which does not have such limitations. However, the high price of this version will increase netbook prices.
Google is now stepping in with an alternative to Windows 7. The company launched its free open-source Android operating system for smartphones in 2008 and told Shopper that the platform is designed to scale upward to "netbook-style devices". HP has already said that it is "assessing the capabilities" of Android with a view to install the OS on its netbooks.
While Google remained coy on the specific features and official launch dates of its netbook-focused OS, the company said that Android will not have the same flaws as Windows Starter Edition when a version for netbooks is launched.
"I don't think there's any restriction to three programs built into the architecture of Android," Anthony House, communications and public affairs manager at Google told Shopper. "Certainly, the limiting factor is the processing speed and the memory allocation."
Google also said that the open nature of Android makes it more suitable for netbooks than closed operating systems, such as Windows 7. House said that developers can modify Android and optimise it for different types of devices.
"It's part of the reason that we think open is better than closed, in general," said House. "We believe open systems develop faster and develop more innovatively, which is one of the reasons we built Android as an open source project."
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