About two weeks after Google released the source code for Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich the folks at the Android-x86 project have released the first build for x86 chips. That’s pretty impressive, considering Google has only released the source for devices with ARM-based processors such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
Google is reportedly working with Intel to release a version of Android designed to run on tablets, laptops, and other computers with x86 chips. But the Android-x86 project has been working to unofficially do the same thing for the past few years.
The first release of Android-x86 is optimized for tablets with AMD Brazos chips including the MSI WindPad 110W or Acer Iconia Tab W500. It’s aimed at developers and it’s still a little rough around the edges. Sound, camera, and Ethernet don’t work yet, and while you can theoretically run the software on a computer with an Intel processor, there’s no hardware acceleration support for Intel chips yet.
But WiFi, and touchscreen input are supported, and the developer build also supports OpenGL ES Hardware acceleration on computers with AMD Radeon graphics.
You can download a LiveCD of Android 4.0 for x86 from the project download page.
via Hacker News
That’s got to put the wind up Microsoft a little. Android isn’t going to compete with Windows head to head in the desktop or corporate space any time soon, but it already dominates the mobile space and this will only make it harder for MS to gain a foothold in this area.
Add the delay of Windows 8 for ARM till up to mid 2013 means they’ll have to keep on focusing on x86 systems for now. Though Intel is planning on starting to make progress on mobile devices next year that could help MS a bit.