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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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Acer Aspire One D260 netbook - Dual boot Windows and Android

By | June 9, 2010, 3:52am PDT

Netbooks have become sort of boring lately, with everything new starting to taste like beans. But Acer has decided to do something different with the Aspire One D260 and add an interesting dual boot feature - Windows and Android.

The netbook itself is pretty standard fayre:

  • 10.1 inch, 1,024 x 600 display
  • Choice of:
     - 1.66GHz Atom N450 with 1GB of DDR2 RAM
    - 1.66GHz Atom N455 with 2GB of DDR3
  • Intel GMA 3150 graphics
  • 250GB hard drive
  • Card reader, 3x USB, Wireless N, Bluetooth, Ethernet …
  • 8 hour battery life with optional 6 cell battery
  • Size: 258.5mm x 185mm x 24mm
  • Weight: 1.25kg
  • MiniGo adapter 34% lighter than typical adapters
  • Choice of four colors: Black Flake, Purple Flake, Pink Flake and Charcoal Flake.

What’s really interesting about this device is the dual boot - offering both Windows 7 and Google Android OS. There’s very little info on the Android OS from Acer at present, so I’m guessing Android 1.5. We are however promised a 15 second boot time to check email and surf the web, which is nice.

No price yet, and availability is expected July 1st.

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Topics

Dual Boot, Acer Inc., Netbook, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Hardware, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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Snow leopard on a netbook?
toviz@... 18th Aug 2010
@randys@... Snow leopard on a netbook? - I think there's a good reason that apple don't use it on the iPad.
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All part of the move off of Windows. This is a good transition solution
DonnieBoy 9th Jun 2010
NT
0 Votes
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ROTFL! Nice excuse, if it works for you, keep using it.
John Zern 9th Jun 2010
but then again DonnieBoy, it looks as though the real reason escaped you:

The best way to sell a computer is to put Windows on it!

I wonder how much Google paid Acer to put that on there? I'm sure Acer is laughing all the way to the bank!

LOL! happy
0 Votes
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Actually, the question is how low did Microsoft have to go to stay relevant
DonnieBoy 9th Jun 2010
on netbooks? The other problem for MS is the Arm netbooks are coming. Then, in addition to the Windows license, you have to pay for more expensive hardware.
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Acer is giving user options in hope of more broader appeal
hamobu-22333136139518773481685514128812 9th Jun 2010
Google does not have to pay acer to put Chrome OS. Acer is just trying to broaden the appeal of their products. Some people would buy this product just for Chrome, and some people will use Chrome just for 15 second boot time. Chrome is actually good feature for quick boot if you only want to use the web, since web use is the point of Chrome.
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RE: Acer Aspire One D260 netbook - Dual boot Windows and Android
vkelman@... 9th Jun 2010
I own a previous dual-boot model: Acer AOD250 http://goo.gl/fyT4, running a customized Android 1.5. From what I see in your article a new model isn't much different.
Acer AOD250 seriously suffers from its lack of touch-screen, because a version of Android it runs wasn't customized enough to work flawlessly with mouse (although it does support an external mouse.) A lack of Android Market doesn't help either.
I wonder why they decided to offer a next model; previous one wasn't popular.
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Maybe they've added things to it
John Zern 9th Jun 2010
and have banked on the Android Market now having some more apps to make it more appealing?

Or maybe Google gave them a lot of money to put it on?

The bottom line is that it still runs Windows if the Android side is lacking for the time being.
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RE: Acer Aspire One D260 netbook - Dual boot Windows and Android
tburzio 9th Jun 2010
Android with Viruses. Cool!
0 Votes
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Dual boot
lars626 9th Jun 2010
It is nice to have options.
What I REALLY want to see is a full size laptop that will allow me to dual boot Windows and Linux. Maybe throw in Chrome when it becomes worthwhile. And while we are at it Windows XP so I can reconnect a couple of older pieces of hardware that I can't get new drivers for.

I can only dream.

Side note for trolls: yes, I do have to deal with that kind of a variable environment; no, the real world does not have the budget to buy all new stuff.
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Dual boot not that difficult
nvrtis@... 9th Jun 2010
@lars626 Buying a new one with dual boot might be a little difficult, but adding Ubuntu to an existing Windows XP install isn't too bad. The 'hardest' part is re-arranging the Windows files to one end of the disk so you can partition it. Once you do that, there are some pretty good instructions on how to do the install.
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RE: Acer Aspire One D260 netbook - Dual boot Windows and Android
dc84 9th Jun 2010
@nvrtis@... @lars626@ you don't need to re-arrange your files, Ubuntu does that for you, you put the disk in and click "next next next next next done" :P

As for XP thats just as easy, you can triple boot if you like, install XP first, then windows 7 then ubuntu grin
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Being able to dual-boot Windows and a Linux distro is news? How so?
AzuMao 9th Jun 2010
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RE: Acer Aspire One D260 netbook - Dual boot Windows and Android
randys@... 18th Aug 2010
Actually I like triboot: XP, Windows 7, and Ubuntu. Now if I could only get a copy of Snow Leopard I could really fly.
0 Votes
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Snow leopard on a netbook?
toviz@... 18th Aug 2010
@randys@... Snow leopard on a netbook? - I think there's a good reason that apple don't use it on the iPad.

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