First Google Android Netbooks spotted
Certainly this can't be it. The first Google Android netbook should certainly be more monumental than this $100 device from SkyTone. Guanzhou, China-based Skytone is famous for making Skype headsets and ultra low cost children's computers.
Context & Ripple Effects
VentureBeat flagged Android netbooks as likely by 2010 back in January, and Googling Google argued Android on netbooks is big money for Google. The prediction has now materialized earlier than expected — but not with the monumental device anyone anticipated: the first sighting is a $100 machine from Skytone, a Guangzhou shop known for Skype headsets and ultra-low-cost children's computers.
First-order effects
- Skytone claims the 'first Android netbook' title at a $100 price point, positioning the category at the extreme low end rather than the mainstream netbook segment.
- Google's mobile OS is now shipping on clamshell hardware months before any major OEM launch, giving the company an early real-world data point for its netbook ambitions.
Second-order effects
- A working $100 Android netbook sets a reference price that established netbook vendors would have to match or justify against if they adopt the OS.
- If cheap Chinese manufacturers lead the category, Google's netbook economics shift toward volume through no-name hardware channels rather than flagship OEM partnerships.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Android becomes a default free OS for sub-$200 portable computing, splitting the netbook market from the Windows-licensed tier below it and making Google's services layer the monetization point.
The trend: Android is extending from phones down into the cheapest tiers of portable computing, with Google's netbook play advancing through low-cost Chinese hardware before the big brands arrive.