HP considers Android OS for upcoming Laptops

In a Wall Street Journal story today,  vice president of HP's PC division Satjib Cahila said the company was looking into using Google's cell phone OS Android for some upcoming laptops.

Of course, this isn't the same as saying HP is going to be using Android in upcoming laptops - they're simply looking into it and letting everyone know, to gauge people's reaction.

If this did happen, there would be a new crack in the Microsoft monopoly on operating systems. Of course Apple has long been the lone competitor of Microsoft's, and their fans are leigon. 

For the rest of us who have never gone the Apple route, Windows was always just the simpler solution. It isn't like I've pledged my fealty to Microsoft by buying a PC - that's just what was there at the time.

Then Vista came along, and it has enjoyed a level of popularity that hasn't been seen since the Asiatic Flu. 

Again, I myself own a PC - but NOT a Vista machine. When I read that Dell and HP would soon be forced to only sell Vista instead of my beloved XP, I ran out and bought a new desktop off their shelf, just so I could have the last, newest machine with that operating system on it. (That Dell eventually announced they would roll back their machines to XP instead of Vista in the first place should say something about what people think of it.)

A few of us in the office have G1 phones with the Android OS on it already, so I personally have some experience with it. If HP does launch an Android/laptop product line, I will be interested to see how it turns out.

But more to the point, I'll be interested to see if Microsoft manages to step up their game with the approaching Windows 8, rather than selling something that's second rate because they know most of us will buy it anyway.

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)

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