HTC may be best known for making mobile phones, but there’s a rumor going around that the company is thinking about getting into the netbook game. TMO Today reports that a tipster says HTC will be building a Google Android powered netbook for T-Mobile with an integrated 3G modem.
If the rumor’s true, the HTC netbook could be available by the end of the year.
Of course, this is just a rumor, and it’s possible that the tipster has some bad info. But it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility. HTC has moved beyond the PDA and handset business recently with mobile computing devices like the HTC Shift which runs Windows Vista.
via AndroidGuys
This is becoming interesting – imagine running the same OS on your laptop, netbook, cellphone, etc etc. Not that you should necessarily need to given everyone’s reliance on the web as a platform, but mobile devices themselves are going to come in many shapes and sizes, and it’s a smart idea to allow the same apps to run across all of them. It certainly makes my ears perk up as a developer – you can then access many markets for a single initial outlay, as well as giving the user the ability to choose the device that makes the most sense for them without forcing them to worry about application compatibility.
I just hope there’s a desktop software ecosystem for it. Cellphone apps don’t cut it on a laptop….and I’ve yet to see anything more than plans in that regard.
I’m hopeful. Maybe too hopeful. I’m beginning to wonder: what if a bunch of Android Laptops showed up and no one made any software for them?
If HTC were to make a Shift with Android OS it could be a very nice little ‘puter… maybe with a faster processor. 800Mhz is so slow by today’s standard. I’m actually very surprised they can get Vista to run on it.