Taiwanese ODM Compal Communications are preparing to develop Android-based netbooks, according to the latest reports in the Commercial Times. Compal, who were tipped to take over manufacturing of the Acer Aspire One, and are believed to be the ODM for the Dell range of Inspiron Mini netbooks, are supposedly in negotiations with several notebook vendors regarding the project.
Details on the netbooks themselves are slim, with neither DigiTimes nor the Chinese-language paper suggesting what specifications Compal have in mind. One possibility is that the ODM will use the somewhat traditional Intel Atom platform; Android has already been shown to run successfully on the Atom N270-based ASUS Eee PC.
Another possibility is that Compal could turn to ARM’s chipset range, selecting either a more basic processor or something HD-capable such as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon. Android-based Snapdragon devices are expected to launch this year, complete with 1080p support and high-speed WWAN connectivity.
