However, the company has not set a time line for deciding whether to offer Android exclusively or as one of several OS options for its products, if at all, according to Marlene Somsak, an HP spokesperson.
"We are studying Android. We want to assess its capabilities," she told LinuxInsider.
If HP decides in favor of using Android, it could well become the first major PC vendor to use Google's OS, currently deployed in smartphones.
Microsoft Waiting
Microsoft's Windows operating system has had steady competition from various Linux distributions in the netbook line. Because Windows Vista is usually too bulky for the limited memory and storage capacity of many netbook models, Microsoft XP has been the designated OS for non-Linux netbooks.
However, Microsoft has said that it is preparing a version of Windows 7 to be compatible with netbook configurations. Windows 7 is expected to be released later this year after a strong showing in its beta release.
Microsoft suggested to LinuxInsider that it did not view HP's consideration of the Android OS as a threat to the Windows OS on netbooks.
"This has long been a competitive space," Ben Rudolph, senior manager of Microsoft Windows, told LinuxInsider. "We've seen Windows on these PCs in the U.S. go from under 10 percent in unit sales during the first half of 2008 to 96 percent as of February 2009, according to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data,"
Microsoft remains confident that Windows' out-of-the-box functionality will ensure its continuing popularity in netbooks, he said.
"The return rates for Linux machines are up to four times higher than Windows return rates. This is a significant additional cost for consumers and retailers," Rudolph explai
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