During the Qualcomm Technologies press conference at Computex, a very interesting ASUS Eee PC was on display. Unlike most netbooks, it was not powered by an Intel Atom processor and Linux or Windows XP. Instead, this Eee PC was powered by Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon platform and Google’s Android operating system.
According to ComputerWorld.com, the device also comes with a 10-inch display, a built-in webcam, and a universal 3G radio supporting both UMTS and CDMA networks. The Snapdragon platform can also play back video at 720p thanks to its 600MHz digital-signal processor and hardware video codecs. Battery life could be as high as 8 to 10 hours due to Snapdragon’s low power requirements.
Qualcomm is looking to market such devices as Smartbooks rather than netbooks to differentiate them somewhat and suggest a closer association to smartphones. It expects to see the first such laptops to be released before the end of the year. ASUS has yet to confirm its plans for such a device.