Mobinova Beam Smartbook: Now With Android, Headed To AT&T
We haven’t yet told you about the Motorola Beam Smartbook which, in January, was said to be launching in the summer for AT&T. Why? Because at the time the Beam was running on Windows CE. LaptopMag caught up with the Beam a couple days ago and SURPRISE – it now has the pleasure of doing business with Android!
They admitted it was a little “rough around the edges” but that is what tends to happen when you’re integrating Android with a new piece of hardware. That’s why we have alpha and beta versions – test runs if you will!
The Beam has an 8.9-inch screen, Nvidia Tegra chipset, sports HD video playback, has HDMI Out for 1080p video and will include CinemaNow for downloading premium videos. Sounds pretty good to me!
Now comes the disappointment… you won’t have access to Android Market. Mobinova claims they are working on their own version of an app/game store for Android, but with AT&T already forcing some hands when it comes to 3rd party apps, it’ll be interesting to see what the Mobinova Beam has in store.
LaptopMag complained about a cramped keyboard, but said if the price is right, the Beam with Android could be an attractive offering for AT&T customers. Price and date still unknown.
Head over to LaptopMag for a video and more details.