Android on X220t/X201t

[Orange Exige]

Just wondering, has anybody else thought about this?

After a quick search, I didn't see anything about running Android on a pc, but I thought it'd be pretty neat to have it as a secondary OS to Windows on a tablet pc like the X220 and X201 (and X200 and anything else XD ). I don't know how plausible it would be, but Android is open-source, and maybe if enough attention is given to the subject, Lenovo would be helpful in the attempt (by providing drivers or something).

Sure, it'd be a cool novelty to have, but I think it'd be pretty useful too for those times when you just need a superlight OS to do super simple tasks (say read an eBook). Android would be a ton lighter than Windows performance-wise on a tablet pc, so I would imagine near-instant boots to Android if one so wanted.

Here are what I think would make this perfect:
Dual-boot Windows/Android (3.0 would be awesome), Improved battery life (due to lighter OS), Android games (!), cross-OS file browsing (read the entire contents of your hard drive in both Android and Windows)...

Maybe I'm crazy for thinking this, but I think it'd be a great idea, and I'm surprised I haven't seen anything on it.

Discuss.

[jcm3]

Like this? [LINK]

[bogatyr]

Not possible until Android has an X86 or X64 version.

[Colonel O'Neill]

Ech. I have enough trouble with Droid phones already.

[n0Ne]

There is already a x86 port of android for PC.
Android-x86 - Porting Android to x86

[Orange Exige]

Originally Posted by jcm3

Like this? [LINK]

Kinda... only I'm talking about having Android on tablet pc's that are already in existence (X220t, X201t, etc).

Originally Posted by n0Ne

There is already a x86 port of android for PC.
Android-x86 - Porting Android to x86

Yeahhhh, like this.
It definitely still appears to be very much a work in progress, and even so, it is mainly just being developed with certain computers in mind (Eee PC's). I'd think twice about testing it, but who knows how it is?
I know it wouldn't be easy, but I'd like to see full support in Android for hardware we have, like multitouch (for multitouch tablet pc's), accelerometer-support (doesn't the X220 have one that detects falls?), camera, etc.

Anyway, I'll keep my out on the development of that project, see if it makes any significant developments for usage by the everyday man. Without Google (and pc manufacturers) backing an x86 version of Android, I suppose it will just remain a pipe dream. Windows 8 will pick up some slack in the touch friendly area, though I still think it'd be great to be able to dual boot to a really light (comparatively) mobile OS like Android.

[jcm3]

Originally Posted by Orange Exige

Kinda... only I'm talking about having Android on tablet pc's that are already in existence (X220t, X201t, etc).

Yeah I know but it sounds like they already intend to make an Android tablet but as a companion to the ThinkPad notebooks.

[Orange Exige]

I have found some more (good) info on the subject...

BlueStacks.

Granted, it's not exactly what I wanted, as Android would be running inside Windows (thus decreasing battery life), but it looks very good and promising in every other aspect.
Plus, there is hope for the future to fully satisfy me:

BlueStacks supports multiple OS configurations

The current release of BlueStacks supports Android running on Windows. As the architecture diagram indicates, the BlueStacks virtualization technology can very easily support different permutations and combinations of operating systems and their applications. Some examples include:

• Android on Windows (for x86):
Run Android on Window simultaneously and seamlessly with the current release of BlueStacks

• Android on Windows (for ARM):
Run Android on Windows on ARM architectures starting with the Windows 8 release

• Android on Chrome OS (for x86):
Run Android apps in a browser tab to augment the app experience in Chrome OS

• Windows on Android (for x86):
Run Windows on Android, boot into Android for faster startup and longer battery life.

Theoretically, in the future, it will be possible to boot straight into Android (it's gotta be damn fast with an i5 & SSD) and then run Windows if you like. They don't think dual-booting Android and Windows is very effective, and they make a good case for their system, so I'd hafta trust em there.

I am led to believe that there is (or at least, should be) full hardware support, but the only way to be sure is to sign up to be an alpha tester and try it out myself.

[atlaz97]

I bought a decked out x220t with the hopes of making it a dual boot win7/android machine. No dice yet. Very frustrating. I'm looking at the thinkpad tablet, but it doesn't make sense when I spent so much $ on the x220t. Here's to hoping the smart people come up with 64bit android. If any of you figure it out, let me know.

[opieum]

I know this topic is kinda dead. But reviving it lol. I installed the dev version of ICS (android 4.0) on my X201T. No sound, touch screen and pen didnt work. But other than that everything else worked fine.

Market works Wifi worked (phenomenally I might add) so this machine was amazing in that area. With a little more work this could be the epic tablet!

Keyboard, mouse support, external storage support (fat32 didnt try exFat)

I might try checking out the code and having a go at it (not much of a dev just fairly technical) seeing if I can incorporate the touchscreen support into the kernel.