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The Google Android operating system may be built for cellphones, but as we’ve already seen it can be installed on laptops and netbooks and it provides many of the features you would want in a light weight OS for portable computing. But first you need to know how to build the operating system so that it will work with your machine.

A source sent me a set of detailed instructions for building Android for an Asus Eee PC 701 today. The instructions are written for Ubuntu Linux, so you’ll need three things (or two if your Eee PC is currently running Ubuntu):

1. A machine running Ubuntu
2. An Eee PC 701
3. A USB flash drive (the instructions don’t say how large it needs to be, but I’d think a 1GB stick would do)

There are two things to keep in mind. First, installing Android will erase any files on your netbook and remove your current operating system. And second, these instructions are only for installing Android on the the Eee PC 701. They will not work with newer Eee PC models like the Eee PC 901 or 1000H. And I wouldn’t expect them to work with other Intel Atom-based netbooks like the MSI Wind U100 or Lenovo IdeaPad S10.

That said, my anonymous tipster is looking for people with kernel hacking experience who might be able to help get Android working on other netbook models. If you think you might be able to help, leave a comment on this post and I’ll do my best to get you in touch.