Android进军笔记本电脑的时候已经到了

几年前，飞思卡尔半导体(Freescale)曾经揭露一款基于 ARM 的新移动计算机原型──“智能笔电”(smartbook)，至今却一直没有下文。不过，它还可能卷土重来。 至少，这是Moor Insights & Strategy公司首席分析师Patrick Moorhead的想法。毕竟，苹果 iPad 其实只是1990年代EO个人通讯器再搭配上更好的显示面板、芯片与软件的升级版罢了。苹果成功的关键并不在于发明了新的概念，而是掌握了最佳时机。 这对基于ARM的笔记本电脑市场来说或许也是一样的。问题的关键并不在于这是不是个好主意，而是上市的时机是否成熟。 时间可能就在2014年。 Android 如今气势正旺，成功地打开了智能手机和平板电脑市场，并被业界誉为移动时代的“Microsoft Windows”。另一方面， Windows 目前正陷于挣扎中，特别是专为 ARM 平板电脑开发的 WinRT 版本。

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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 第2页：ARM笔记本电脑对于考量成本的消费者而言，是个更理想的选择 第3页：占卜Google的未来

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{pagination} Moorhead 比较两款不同版本的Microsoft平板电脑── Win x86(Surface Pro)以及 Win ARM版(Surface RT)。 x86 系统由于缺乏内存以及执行一般笔电应用程序的性能，因而会随使用时间而迟缓，形成所谓的“Win Rot”现象。但它的情况比起连象样的本地或云端应用程序都没有的 Tegra 3 / WinRT 系统还好些。Moorhead指出，“WinRT 目前的处境正岌岌可危。” 当然，微软现正致力于改善这些问题。Moorhead说，微软可能开始提供一些更好的 Outlook 电子邮件客户端，以及更多的云端储存支持。但无论是哪一种情况，它都无法展现像 Android 的强大性能，因而似乎为基于 ARM 的笔记本电脑市场再度带来机会。

Surface RT与PRO具体差别
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当今的 Tegra 4 、 Snapdragon 及其竞争产品比飞思卡尔在几年前推出的 i.MX 具有更强大的处理性能。此外，还有更加成熟的 Android，Google还推出了更多云端应用程序。 相较于支持全键盘、更大电池以及整合更多外围的高阶 Android 平板电脑，如果OEM销售一款ARM笔记本电脑，对于考量成本的消费者而言，这可能是个更理想的选择。但Google可能步入 Wintel ultrabook的后尘吗？ 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 第3页：占卜Google的未来

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{pagination} 占卜Google的未来 Google最近才重新安排了移动操作系统业务的掌舵人。 Android 创始人Andy Rubin已黯然退场，他一手打造的 Android 团队将与 Chrome OS 团队合并为 Chromebook ，并由Google公司资深副总裁Sundar Pichai负责。 在新的领导人带领下，即使想开拓 Android 笔电等其它新市场，Google应该也能像过去一样地顺利。事实上，Pichai也可能考虑将 Chrome OS 用于低成本智能手机等移动设备中，瞄准为中国与其它新兴市场提供功能手机的展讯及其它厂商。 对于未来的预测还衍生了一些问题：比较 Chrome OS 与 Android ，二者在内存和处理能力上有何不同？用户对于搭载 Chrome OS 的智能手机有什么看法？Google与其合作伙伴能容忍 Android 和 Chrome OS 之间这么多的重叠吗？ 从策略上来看，Chrome OS 与 Android两种系统对于Google来说都意义非凡。 Android 笔记本电脑可能会对微软 WinRT 带来致命一击，而 Chrome OS 则可能用于打击Mozilla最新的移动操作系统。 总之，目前看来还有很多悬而未决的问题。但我最后想问的是：你会选择使用 Android笔记本电脑或 Chrome OS 手机吗？ 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：Android notebook's time may be close，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Android notebook's time may be close Rick Merritt Years ago, Freescale was flogging the concept of a smartbook, an ARM-based notebook. It never got off the ground then, but it may be coming around again. At least that’s what Patrick Moorhead thinks. The more I think about it, the AMD exec turned analyst has a good point. After all, the Apple iPad is really just a 1990’s era EO Personal Communicator updated with a better display, chips and software. Apple’s success came not in inventing the concept but in knowing when the time for it was right. The same may be true for the ARM-based notebook. The question is not whether or not it’s a good idea, it’s a matter of when the time is ripe. That could be 2014. Android is on a roll in smartphones and tablets. Everyone sees it as the Microsoft Windows of the mobile era. Meanwhile, Windows itself is floundering, especially the WinRT version that was supposed to enable ARM-based tablets. Moorhead carries two tablets--a Win x86 and a Win ARM machine. The x86 model gets sluggish with what he calls “Win Rot” regularly because it lacks the memory and muscle to run typical notebook apps. But it’s much better than the Tegra 3/WinRT model he carries that doesn’t even have decent local or cloud apps. “WinRT is teetering on the brink of extinction,” Moorhead says. Microsoft is working on it, no doubt. Moorhead says it could start by providing a better Outlook email client, and more support for cloud storage. In any case, it is weak and Android is strong and thus it appears there’s an opportunity again for an ARM-based notebook. Today’s Tegra 4, Snapdragon and their rivals are much more muscular processors than the i.MX Freescale was flogging years ago. Android is more mature and Google has more cloud apps to offer now. If OEMs sell an ARM notebook as a premium Android tablet sporting a full keyboard, larger battery and more integrated peripherals, it could be a nice product for a cost conscious consumer. But would Google go after Wintel’s ultrabook? Reading the Google tea leaves Here’s where the speculation gets interesting. Google just rearranged the deck chairs in its mobile operating system business. Android founder Andy Rubin is out. His team is combined with the Chrome OS team that enabled the Chromebook with both groups run by Chrome OS leader Sundar Pichai. Perhaps the shift is a sign there was some big debate that Rubin lost. Or maybe the still-young entrepreneur just got bored running a big business and wanted to start the next big thing. In any case, under a new leader, Google is at least as prone as it was in the past to pioneering something new like an Android notebook. Indeed Pichai might even consider a Chrome OS handset, perhaps a lower cost smartphone for that feature phone market Spreadtrum and others are riding in China and other emerging markets. The speculation spawns questions: What’s the difference in memory and processing power for Chrome OS vs. Android? What new user scenarios might emerge for Chrome OS smartphones? Would Google and its partners tolerate so much Android and Chrome OS overlap? Strategically, both initiatives make sense for Google. An Android notebook could be a coup de grace blow on Microsoft’s WinRT. A Chrome OS handset might stop Mozilla’s mobile bid before it got off the ground. There are plenty of unanswered questions ahead. I’ve got one for you: Would you build or use an Android notebook or a Chrome OS handset?