HP considering Google's Android for PC use

Google's Android is gaining traction in the mobile market

HP is evaluating Google's open-source Android operating system for use in some of its PCs and mobile devices.

Android is starting to gain traction in the mobile market following the success of the T-Mobile G1, and a range of companies have signed up to the Open Handset Alliance, the organisation behind the development of Android. Several announcements were also made at this year's Mobile World Congress regarding other Android phones in development.

The open-source operating system is also generating interest from other players in the mobile device market, including Nvidia, which is testing it on the Tegra platform, and Qualcomm, which has showcased it running on its Snapdragon architecture.

Asus, meanwhile, has already announced plans to port Android to its netbook range.

Reports of HP's interest in Android first surfaced in a report from The Wall Street Journal, and the vendor has since confirmed that it is looking into the potential of Android for some of its netbooks and smartphones.

A spokeswoman for HP said that the company is "studying the Android operating system".

"We want to assess the capability that Android may have for the computer and communications industry. As to how and when HP might produce any products using Android, we do not comment on any speculation like that," she said.

However, HP stressed that it remains open to considering various operating system options.

Commenting on the reports, Google said that it designed Android to be open and scalable for precisely this type of application.

"Android is a free open-source mobile platform, so anyone can take the Android platform and add code or download it to create a mobile device without restrictions," said a Google spokesman.

"The Android smartphone platform was designed from the beginning to scale downward to feature phones and upward to mobile internet devices and netbook-style devices. We look forward to seeing what contributions are made, and how an open platform spurs innovation, but we have nothing to announce at this time."