Dell to Release an Android Netbook

Posted 05/07/2009 at 2:32pm | by Andy Salisbury

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While no word had been shared about the potential of an Android netbook from Dell, a hastily released press release from a company called Bsquare has gone ahead and confirmed it (presumably, without Dell’s permission).

The press release (which is posted after the break) states “Bsquare Corporation (BSQR - News), the leading software solutions provider to the global embedded device community, today announced it is porting Adobe's Flash Lite 3.17 technology onto Dell Netbooks running Google's Android platform.”

Bsquare had attempted to remove the information hoping that no one would be the wiser, but the quick eyes of the Internet don’t miss a thing – including rogue press releases.

While the existence of an Android based netbook has been confirmed, no additional details have been released.

BELLEVUE, WA–(MARKET WIRE)–May 6, 2009 — Bsquare Corporation (BSQR - News), the leading software solutions provider to the global embedded device community, today announced it is porting Adobe’s Flash Lite 3.17 technology onto Dell Netbooks running Google’s Android platform.

Adobe is a leader in rich internet and user interface technology for mobile devices. Flash technology ships on over 800 million devices worldwide with more than one million designers and developers using Adobe Flash to build video and rich media applications.

Netbook and Nettop computers offer the functionality and efficiency of traditional laptops, but with lighter weight and better portability. Research firm Gartner estimates that worldwide shipments of netbooks will increase by 50 percent to 7.8 million units in 2009, while overall computer sales are expected to decline. Industry analysts also predict that Android will gain traction on smart devices, such as the ultra-portable Dell Mini Inspiron 910, which are used in a range of industries.

“Integrating Adobe Flash technology with the functionality of Google’s Android platform on the full range of Netbook devices will allow our OEM customers to meet the high expectations their customers have of this new industry segment,” said Bsquare’s CEO Brian Crowley. “As the Netbook and Nettop market segments expand, our Adobe Flash Lite port to Android is just one of the software products we will offer our OEM and ODM customers.”

In the last 12 months since its acquisition of NEC America’s Adobe Flash Technology Consulting and Distribution business, Bsquare has worked on over 40 different customer devices including handsets, set top boxes, digital signage, consumer devices and netbooks. Bsquare has built an Android competency in its professional engineering services group through customer engagements and by hiring top talent in the field.

About Bsquare

Bsquare is an industry leader with a proven track record in providing engineering services and production-ready software products for the smart device market. Since 1994, Bsquare has provided device manufacturers with software solutions for personal navigation devices, point-of-sale terminals, handheld data terminals, smart phones and many other device categories allowing them to get to market more quickly and cost effectively. Bsquare acquired the TestQuest testing automation tools in November 2008. The combination of TestQuest’s testing automation products and Bsquare’s industry leading software and hardware products and services offer the best of class device development solutions to the embedded and mobile device development community. Now device developers building consumer mobile or vertically targeted embedded devices can rely on the highest quality development expertise from Bsquare, plus the most feature rich testing automation tools from TestQuest, to accelerate their devices to market while minimizing development costs and errors. For more information, visit www.bsquare.com.

Image Credit: Google/Dell