Hewlett-Packard has launched the Compaq AirLife 100, a smartbook based on the Android OS and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor, it said on Friday.
The AirLife 100, which was developed for accessing the Web, takes the best of a smartphone and puts it into a netbook design, said HP.
The device turns on instantly, has up to 12 hours of battery life and up to 10 days of standby time. It comes with a customized touchscreen user interface, which features a new “tabbed” touch-enabled browser, a mechanism for zooming on Web pages and a touch optimized media suite, HP said.
The extended battery life comes comes courtesy of Qualcomm’s QSD8250 processor, according to HP. The Snapdragon processor is used by a growing number of smartphones, including the Android-based Acer Liquid, the Google Nexus One and the upcoming Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.
Just like many Android-based smartphones, the AirLife 100 comes with support for GPS and Internet access using 3G and Wi-Fi.
The design is standard netbook fare: the device has a 10.1-inch screen and a keyboard that is 92 percent the size of a regular one, HP said.
Data is stored on a 16GB SSD (solid-state drive) or an SD card.
The AirLife 100 will start shipping in Europe this spring, via a deal with operator Telef
HP’s smartbook is not the last Android-based device to debut this month. Additional smartphones, netbooks and other devices with the OS will be shown at next week’s Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona.