Freescale Semiconductor has developed an ARM Cortex A8-based i.MX515 system-on-chip (SoC), and they have announced that Android is one of the operating systems that ports to the chip.
What does this mean in plain English? This SoC is now available in a development board, including a netbook reference design. According to Linuxdevices.com:
“The Open Handset Alliance’s Android mobile Linux/Java project already supported ARM, including the Qualcomm MSM7201A ARM processor used on the HTC G1. The new Android support for the i.MX515 is yet another of numerous recent signs that Android netbooks are on the way.”
It’s exciting to contemplate a low-cost, Android-based netbook. The timing on when something like this could be available is uncertain, but when it is, how many of you will be tempted to pick one up?
[linuxdevices.com]