Acer's Aspire One AOD250 Netbook Boots Windows XP And Android For $350

Ah, the elusive Android netbook...well, sorta. We've been hearing for quite some time now that mainstream PC makers were looking to shove Google's phone-centric operating system onto netbooks to give buyers another option when it came time to select a mini PC, but to date, few have shown interest in actually coming through on those promises. Blame it on Microsoft's dominance in the field or in the general public's lack of knowledge about Android, but whatever you do, don't blame it on Acer.

After launching an array of machines this week in preparation for the launch of Windows 7, the company has today introduced what amounts to being the world's first publicly ready dual-boot netbook. The machine ships with a dual-boot option that enables it to start up into Windows XP and Android, whichever the user prefers. In our eyes, this is a marvelous compromise. Some folks may be scared to dive in blindly to Android, but with WinXP always here as a safety net, what's to lose?


The Aspire One AOD250 netbook features a 10.1" display, a one-click OS switching function, 6-cell battery, 1GB of RAM, integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, 160GB of HDD space, a multi-gesture trackpad, LED-backlit panel, Crystal Eye webcam, built-in digital microphone, Bluetooth 2.1 and Intel's GMA 950 graphics. There's also a multi-format card reader, two speakers, three USB 2.0 sockets, a 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU and the availability of four color options: Ruby Red, Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue and Seashell White.

The 2.79lb. machine can be yours now for $349.99, a small premium to pay for two operating systems.