Acer Netbook Dual Boots in Android, Windows XP

Acer has unveiled the new Aspire AOD250 netbook that dual boots in Android OS and Windows XP operating system. Priced at $350 (Rs. 16,800 approx.), this Acer netbook boasts of fast Android Boot option for "instant on" Internet access. This Acer Aspire machine has 10.1-inch screen has same old Aspire line chassis and is available in Ruby Red, Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue and Seashell White colors.

Acer boasts of the special dual-boot feature that allows users to switch between Windows XP and Android. Designed specifically for mobile platform, the Android OS features Instant On feature that connects user to Internet within fraction of seconds.

In the internals, Acer packed 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor with 512KB L2 Cache and 667MHz FSB which is paired with Mobile Intel 945GSE chipset. Other hardware components include 1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM, 160GB 5400RPM SATA HDD and Intel GMA 950 integrated.

For video chat, Acer added Crystal Eye Webcam and two stereo speakers built-in. Netbook's 10.1-inch WSVGA display carries Acer CrystalBrite LED-backlit technology and also feature Dolby Headphone technology for more realistic audio through headphones. Also, there is Multi-gesture trackpad which has become sort of a norm in netbooks.

Note that this netbook only supports WiFi 802.11 b/g only. Thus, it wouldn't be comparable with similar configuration netbooks offering support for Wireless Draft N. To run make the netbook run longer, Acer packs 5800mAh 6-cell Li-ion battery that should last at last at least 5-6 hours.

Users with heavy Internet usage on the go can consider this option if they wish to make best of Android's Instant On feature. Considering this as beginning, we can wait for many more netbook models that come with dual boot option with Android as one of the OSes. What would happen when Google will release the Chrome OS? Once released, Chrome OS would make things interesting for netbook segment.