$250 Google Netbook Debuts This Summer

The first netbook running the Google-backed Android mobile operating system could be available within 3 months for $250, ComputerWorld reports. The petite, no-frills Alpha 680 with a 7-inch wide screen will be the smallest netbook yet, weighing a dainty 1.5 pounds and meansuring 8.5 by 6 inches. It's made by a small, obscure Chinese company and uses Google’s Linux-based OS and a chip designed for smartphones.

The stripped-down machine comes with built-in WiFi but very few applications. Its creators stress that the netbook is not necessarily aimed at rich Westerners, but at the other “80% of the world” who would benefit from access to the Web. "Watching TV over the Internet is not the most urgent thing for them," said the company’s co-founder.
(More Netbooks stories.)