Topic: Android notebooks?

[Nemesis]

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Dissatisfied with sales of Windows 8 notebook and tablets, major PC vendors have reportedly joined Intel in a new push to launch convertible fondleslabs based on Google's Android OS.

So sayeth the supply-chain sleuths at Taiwanese tech news site DigiTimes, which cites anonymous sources inside the notebook vendors.

Chinese ThinkPad maker Lenovo is reportedly leading the charge and is planning to release an Android-powered version of its 11-inch Yoga convertible slab in May. But Lenovo is far from alone; Acer, Asus, HP, and Toshiba are all said to be also readying Android models that will launch in the third quarter.

Sources say Intel has pinned the "sweet spot" for Android notebook pricing at around $500, which means these new devices should arrive priced about the same as Microsoft's entry-level Surface RT slab.

[Nemesis]

Anti Android complaint in the EU by Microsoft led group:

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BRUSSELS – April 9, 2013 – FairSearch.org has filed a complaint with the European Commission laying out Google’s anti-competitive strategy to dominate the mobile marketplace and cement its control over consumer Internet data for online advertising as usage shifts to mobile.

Google’s Android is the dominant smartphone operating system, running in 70% of units shipped at the end of 2012, according to Strategy Analytics. Google also dominates mobile search advertising with 96% of the market, according to eMarketer. The complaint says Google uses deceptive conduct to lockout competition in mobile.

“Google is using its Android mobile operating system as a ‘Trojan Horse’ to deceive partners, monopolize the mobile marketplace, and control consumer data,” said Thomas Vinje, Brussels-based counsel to the FairSearch coalition. “We are asking the Commission to move quickly and decisively to protect competition and innovation in this critical market. Failure to act will only embolden Google to repeat its desktop abuses of dominance as consumers increasingly turn to a mobile platform dominated by Google’s Android operating system.”

Evil Google getting all that revenue that is rightfully Microsofts.  Except how are they compelling this?  They must be using some form of compulsion for it to be illegal - but how?

[Sirgod]

I tell ya, after getting the wife her (smart phone) that runs on android, you can bet your bottom dollar, I would run an android notebook also. I just can not make the leap to Win 8.

Stephen

[Capt. Mike]

My philosophy (and it has worked) never go with a Windows product with an even number

Mike

[Nemesis]

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Notebook prices should soon hit $200, but most of those will be Android-based devices, not Windows 8, an Intel executive said.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini last week said touchscreen PCs could debut at prices as low as $200 in the coming months. At the time, he didn't specify what operating system those products would run.

But Dadi Perlmutter, Intel executive vice president and chief product officer, told CNET on Wednesday that notebooks priced at the $200 level will predominantly be Android products running on Intel's Atom mobile processor. Whether Windows 8 PCs hit that price largely depends on Microsoft, he said.

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Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini downgraded Microsoft from Neutral to Sell (relative to their coverage) with a $27 price target (currently at $28.75, down $1.53 or 5%) due to a worsening PC trends and lack of traction in tablets and smartphones.