Motorola has rolled out an Android-powered desktop in China – complete with an 18.5-inch LED touchscreen (1366×768 @ 60Hz, 16:9), keyboard and mouse.
The system – officially dubbed the CloudBB – features a Freescale i.MX53 ARM Cortex A8 1GHz chip, 1 GB DDR RAM and 4 GB NAND flash memory.
Unsurprisingly, Motorola seems to be marketing the system as a media hub of sorts that is capable of streaming TV shows, movies and additional cloud-based content.
Of course, the CloudBB can also be used to play games, browse the web, write emails/documents and run a plethora of Android apps.
”While Android is certainly no stranger to dipping its toes in the desktop computer world, it’s not often we see big-name manufacturers create an all-out desktop device complete with a mouse and keyboard,” explained Simon Sage of Android Central.
“It’s still running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, so don’t expect a whole lot from the Motorola HMC3260, but the concept sure is interesting – [even if] there’s no information on pricing or availability.”
Personally, I doubt Android-based systems like the CloudBB will be replacing traditional desktop PCs in the immediate future, especially with a Cortex A8/A9 processor.
However, chips based on ARM’s Cortex-A15, which are 40% faster than the A9 and capable of scaling up to 2.5 GHz will likely help accelerate the adoption of Android-based desktops.
Although, it remains unclear if Android desktops will ever hit critical mass in the United States, China does seem like a good place to start.
What do you think?
