Android to threaten windows in netbook market.(ENABLING TECHNOLOGY)

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. It's something Intel's Craig Barrett once said, and which Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer may be thinking these days about Google.

Brian Womack's Bloomberg.com piece "Google's Android May Challenge Microsoft in Portables" makes a case that Google is moving up the food chain to challenge Microsoft in Microsoft's core business, operating system.

Google started with Android for smartphones and there are reports that several netbook makers are considering using Android.

Microsoft has more than 90% of the operating-system market for PCs including desktops and laptops. After a slow start in netbooks with Linux getting most of the market, Microsoft backed up and started offering Windows XP, a better fit for netbooks than the bulky, clumsy Windows Vista. XP runs better than Vista on the low-power processors that are used in netbooks. It also costs makers a lot less, an important consideration when they're trying to sell a battery-operated computer for less than $400.

Microsoft has promised that its upcoming Windows 7, currently in beta test, will run well on netbooks.

Google's Android competes with Windows Mobile in the smartphone market. Several handset makers, notably HTC and Motorola, have or have said they'll make smartphones with Android.

Google hasn't said it'll promote Android for netbooks but it's an open operating system that anyone can modify.

The complete article is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=azdqc9vK2gfg&refer=home

Womack reports that chip maker Freescale worked with Taiwan's Pegatron, the manufacturing arm of Asustek Computer, to create a netbook design that can use Android. Freescale expects to be producing chips for the device in large quantities by the second quarter.