• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Android-x86 Released

Heh, one of my more recent Android-converts had been lamenting to me that he really just wants a desktop with Android on it, just for web and email and stuff, without needing to go full-blown with windows-related expenses and stuff, but says he thinks they don't exist.

I had previously used the LiLi USB Creator to install the Android Release Candidate on a stick, so I plugged it in to my wife's laptop (hey, it was the closest one available that wasn't doing anything!) booted it up, and laughed as his mouth dropped open and asked me a million questions. :cool:

On the other hand, I also showed him Linux Mint 16 KDE edition, and he also told me he'd want me to put that on the family computer. That would make him my THIRD Linux convert, lol. :D
 
Veddy interesting. Now to find the time. The box it will go on is in the garage, and there has to be a spare drive around here somewhere.
 
MoodyBlues said:
Thanks for the heads-up, saptech. And, Mike, please do update us, okay?
Click to expand...

Finally got around to trying it out this morning, for an hour. It's Kitkat 4.4.2. All seems to work, Virtual Box on Mac. Not looked too much for app compatibility yet or stability.

:thumb:
attachment.php

attachment.php

attachment.php


The kernel string shows as:
3.10.30-android-x86+ cwhuang@fw.cwhuang.info Fri Feb 14.23:02 CST 2013
...so one guess as to where this has come from. And where some of the most interesting Android development does happen IMO.

UPDATE:

Gallery doesn't work, that crashes immediately. Play Music doesn't work, but that's probably because of location and RIAA restrictions. My phone which I bought in Hong Kong didn't come with Play Music. Part of the fun with this is going through the Play Store and seeing what works and what doesn't, so far any game that uses 3D, is either horribly corrupted or just crashes.

Screen shot 2014-02-27 at 18.56.24.jpgScreen shot 2014-02-27 at 19.05.32.jpgScreen shot 2014-02-27 at 19.04.59.jpg
 
sfbloodbrother said:
Does this mean we may start seeing android ship out on desktop computers in the future?
Click to expand...

Maybe, but it's going to take some work before Android-x86 is ready for primetime. Think the current builds are really intended just for testing in a virtual environment. They'd have to sort drivers for some real hardware. There's a couple of builds of 2.3, etc, for running on specific laptops, like Asus. Also is there any real advantage in running Android on an x86 processor over an ARM processor? There's a few Android laptops and all-in-one systems already, but they're ARM and not x86. I'm just trying it out on a Macbook, see what it's actually like to use. If I really wanted an Android laptop, no doubt I just pop-out and buy one. :D Currently if you really need to run Android apps on a PC or Mac, I think Bluestacks is probably a better choice.
 
mikedt said:
Maybe, but it's going to take some work before Android-x86 is ready for primetime. Think the current builds are really intended just for testing in a virtual environment. They'd have to sort drivers for some real hardware. There's a couple of builds of 2.3, etc, for running on specific laptops, like Asus. Also is there any real advantage in running Android on an x86 processor over an ARM processor? There's a few Android laptops and all-in-one systems already, but they're ARM and not x86. I'm just trying it out on a Macbook, see what it's actually like to use. If I really wanted an Android laptop, no doubt I just pop-out and buy one. :D Currently if you really need to run Android apps on a PC or Mac, I think Bluestacks is probably a better choice.
Click to expand...

Maybe android development will become so advance that no arm processor will handle what we write for it. Imagine playing battlefield on your Android PC with exotic hardware.
 
Android-x86 4.4-RC2 (KitKat-x86) 2014/05/20

The Android-x86.org is happy to announce the 4.4-RC2 release to public. This is the second candidate of Android-x86 4.4 stable release.

I'll let you try it first...


[edit: forgot to say the ISO download options]

ASUS Laptops/Tablets
AMD Brazos platform
ASUS Eee PC family
Lenovo S10-3t tablet
Tegav2 (Atom N455 tablet)
IBM thinkpad tablet
HP tx2500

I ain't got none of them.
 
Similar threads merged :)

Looks like there is also an Android-x86 4.4 release that is intended to run on most x86 systems, not just specific ones:
android-x86 - Browse /Release 4.4 at SourceForge.net

We tried to create a universal image for most x86 platforms for the kitkat-x86 release. The plan is still in an experimental stage. Please report bugs to the android-x86 forum with detailed specs of your machine and error logs.
Click to expand...
 
how slow is it? i remember using the SDK to run it in a virtual window but it was horridly slow. like worse than a cheap budget tablet.

Like Windows 8, i would debate the usefulness of a touch/mobile OS on a desktop or laptop computer. i do have a small netbook that came with Android 4.1 lying around, it works well enough but navigating via keyboard and touchpad is a lesson in how well one deals with migraine headaches
 
Here's a real worthwhile and practical use for Android-x86 that was featured on BBC the other day, Keepod, Uses old laptops where the HDDs have been removed for salvage and to raise capital, and everyone's personal Android system is on inexpensive bootable USB sticks.

BBC News - Keepod 'magic drives' put Nairobi's children online

"Keepod 'magic drives' put Nairobi's children online

Around five billion people - two thirds of the world's population - still do not have access to a computer or smartphone.
Many people would like access but find themselves on the wrong side of a digital divide that seems too difficult to bridge.
Many charities are trying to help in poorer areas, but now, two entrepreneurs reckon they may have the answer with an idea that funds itself, as Dan Simmons reports at the start of a global campaign."

Keepod
There have been things like this before, OLPC(One Laptop Per Child). Problem with those they're still quite expensive, $200 each. And Windows PCs can be horribly expensive and completely unaffordable for much of the world's population.

Android here only has to boot and for the basic hardware to work, it doesn't need high performance or anything fancy. The premise here is that everyone keeps their personal data on their personal USB stick as well as the OS, rather than on the shared communal laptops.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom