Hybrid hijinks: How to install Android on your PCWindows 8’s bold grab for tablet relevance may snatch headlines, but it isn’t the only operating system looking to extend its established supremacy over a whole new class of devices. As the PC market hemorrhages, more and more manufacturers are turning to Google’s Android OS to power PCs that once carried Windows alone. From hybrids to all- in- ones to an Intel- promised flood of incredibly cheap “Droidbooks,” Android cometh. Isn’t Android made for smartphones? And weren’t the first Android- powered laptops a bit ? And aren’t there some lingering questions about how Android performs in a PC- type environment? The intriguing Android- x. Google’s open- source OS from the ARM processors common in smartphones and tablets over to the x. Android for a spin on your PC before plunking cash down on one of the latest examples of computing convergence. And even if you have no plans to buy an Android PC, playing with Android on your current PC is just plain fun. You’ll know firsthand after giving Android a test drive in a virtual machine. Reports suggest that a flagship Tizen smartphone from Samsung is in the works, but the OS is still largely unknown to the masses. And yes, you can install Android on your computer’s hard drive—but I don’t recommend even dual- booting this particular OS. Even so, running Android in a virtual machine is more consistently headache- free than dual- booting it. From there, you’ll want to pick up from the “Install Android on your PC” segment below. If an ISO for your specific laptop model is available, grab it. A Create Virtual Machine window will appear. Name your digital Android PC anything you like, but be sure to select Linux as the type of operating system, and Linux 2. Give it at least 5. MB of RAM if you can, though Android- x. MB of RAM if you’re using a resource- strapped PC. The more memory you can spare, the smoother the results will be, though you don’t want to allocate so much to Android that your native experience suffers while the VM is active. The VM appears in the Virtual. Box manager. Click the Storage button in the VM manager and, in the window that appears, select the Empty option underneath . There, click the disc icon to the right of . Simply browse your hard drive and select the Android- x. ISO to load it in the virtual machine, and then click OK when you’re done. Click the Audio option, and in the window that appears, click the drop- down . If you leave it on the default Soundblaster 1. ![]() Android VM’s audio won’t work properly. Now you’re ready to install Android on your PC. The process is a bit trickier than your standard Windows installation. After clicking OK on any dialog boxes that pop up—be sure to read them!—you’ll quickly notice that you can’t use your mouse during installation. ![]() Use the arrow keys to scroll down to Installation, and then press Enter. Press Enter to select Create/Modify partitions on the next screen as well. Just navigate to New and press Enter again. Select Primary as the partition type, and then press Enter once more to set the partition to the default size. You’ll see the following screen. With that done, select the Write option. A warning appears, threatening that writing to disk will wipe any data already on the disk.
This is a virtual machine, you silly installation software. Type yes, and then press Enter yet again. Press Enter again. You’ll see a list of formatting options. Select ext. 3, press Enter, and select Yes when asked if you really want to format the disk. You also want to install the /system directory as read/write when asked. Run Android- x. 86. It’s pretty straightforward, and you can even connect the Android- x. VM to your Google account. But before you do that, you need to coax a mouse cursor on screen, because trying to navigate a touchscreen- optimized OS by keyboard is maddening. Dialog boxes may appear; if so, click through them and continue. Disabling mouse integration allows you to manually control whether your mouse is controlling your primary OS or Android- x. Pressing the right Ctrl button on your keyboard switches between the two operating systems. To swipe, click and hold the mouse button, and then move the mouse. You can’t sync your Google account’s apps to the VM, despite what the setup process implies—at least not yet. And yes, performance can be kind of poky, no matter how much RAM you toss at Android- x. The result isn’t perfect, but if you give it a shot, I think you’ll wind up pleasantly surprised. Android wasn’t made for big screens, but all those smartphone- optimized apps hold up okay, and a ton of them are completely free, completely awesome, and can’t be found on proper PCs. Android - FAQ on Samsung's New OSWhen it comes to the smartphone market there are four names that come to mind for consumers: i. OS, Android, Windows Phone and Black. Berry. But that could all change in 2. Apple, Google and other industry big shots. Enter Tizen, an open source Linux- based operating system that seeks to give Android a run for its money. Tizen has been in the works since early 2. Samsung’s involvement and interest in the platform. Reports have suggested that Korean electronics giant will launch a flagship smartphone based on Tizen in the near future, but the OS is still largely unknown to the masses. Here’s a roundup of 1. Samsung’s new Android killer. Based on Linux Tizen is an open source operating system based on the Linux kernel and Web. Kit runtime. This means that users can obtain the source code that Tizen is based on, allowing smartphone owners to tinker with and alter a device’s software. Android, Firefox OS and Ubuntu are also open- source, unlike Apple’s closed i. OS mobile operating system. MORE: Top 1. 0 i. Phone Alternatives. Backed by Intel and Samsung The Tizen OS is a project within the Linux Foundation and is overseen by a Technical Steering Group that consists of Intel and Samsung. The OS came to be when Intel joined Samsung in 2. Mee. Go and Li. Mo. Tizen had been perceived as a rebranding of Mee. Go, but not according to Carsten Haitzler, a software engineer known for leading the development of Linux’s Enlightenment window browser. A post written by Haitzler on Tizen’s general questions page in 2. Samsung Li. Mo/SLP and Mee. Go work, not simply a . On its official web page, Tizen claims that smartphones powered by the OS will feature 3. D window effects, advanced multimedia, location- based services, and just about every other feature you’ll find on today’s smartphones. Although Tizen isn’t ready for the mainstream market just yet, Samsung has said numerous times that it plans to launch a flagship based on the OS very soon, perhaps in the late 2. Tizen isn’t on any available phones just yet, but we have seen purported leaks of Tizen 2. Samsung phone labeled GT- i. MORE: How to Root Android Phones and Tablets. Samsung's Android Alternative? It’s no secret that Samsung’s Android handsets have been widely successful. However, numerous reports have suggested that Samsung has been itching for an OS with more creative control, seeking to wean itself off Google. In a recent interview, Samsung’s own JK Shin told CNET that Tizen is more than just a side project, but also a “simple alternative for Android.”This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering Samsung has been taking steps to add its own brand to the mobile OS on its smartphones. Implementing a relatively unknown OS such as Tizen onto a flagship device like the Galaxy S4 could give Samsung the opportunity decrease reliance on one of its competitors. Samsung smartphones come with a heavily skinned version of Android known as Touch. Wiz, which puts Samsung’s own spin on the Android interface and includes its own Samsung Apps store. The App Challenge There’s no denying that Samsung and Intel are pushing for developer support for their Tizen platform, especially when the companies are willing to put $4 million toward app creation. As part of the app development challenge, developers have until Nov. Tizen OS. Judging will take place between Nov. December. The developer behind the best game will be awarded $2. The top 1. 0 HTML 5- based applications will receive $5. Tizen’s app page is blank at the moment, but with hundreds of thousands of dollars hanging in the balance we’re interested to see how it grows. MORE: 2. 5 Best Android Apps. Emphasis on HTML 5. Tizen encourages its developers to write apps in HTML5, which the most recent iteration of the HTML standard that debuted back in 2. Other operating systems such as Android and i. OS use Java and Objective- C as their primary coding languages. HTML5 essentially enables a smoother Web browsing experience for mobile devices, such as the ability to display embedded videos or play music without an additional plugins and save data offline. MORE: The Biggest Smartphones in the World. Similar to Android Yet Different Like most smartphone user interfaces, Tizen’s OS seems to feature core components such as the home screen, notification panel, and lock screen. While the Tizen OS shares some Android design elements, there are also some fundamental differences. For example, the Tizen home screen displays applications just like an app drawer would, rather than the Android home screen which displays the time and only one row of icons at the bottom of the screen. While the home screen may differ, drop down menus and app menus have the same grayish boxy look as those in Android do. Like Google’s mobile OS, there’s a notification bar that can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen. Of course, this is based on a prototype of the Tizen OS that was showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, so the final design is subject to change. Multi- Window View, Floating Browsers Based on what we can gather from the app design guidelines posted on Tizen’s developer page, Tizen is likely to come with a multi- window feature similar to the Q Slide feature found on newer LG devices. Essentially, Tizen apps would be able to exist in either “full window” form or a “mini window” mode that would create a “floating browser” effect. Multi window views and floating browsers aren’t new, but they’re certainly not standard smartphone features that come built in to every smartphone’s UI. At the same time, Tizen’s website details another design aspect dubbed “Multi- window,” which is similar to a feature of the same name found on Samsung smartphones. This feature lets you view apps in a split view. However, unlike the Samsung feature, which runs two apps in separate windows on the screen, Tizen’s version displays one app in a split view. So, for instance, rather than selecting an email to read it, you can enable a split view that shows the body of your email and your inbox at the same time. Similarly, in a music app you could theoretically have the song currently playing displayed next to your playlist without having to navigate back and forth. MORE: 1. 2 Worst Android Annoyances and How to Fix Them. Basic Gestures. The Tizen operating system is built to interact with certain touch gestures that consist of taps, swipes and flicks among other actions. As is the case with most touch screen devices, tapping an item will select it and long- pressing will launch an app- specific option menu. Pinch to zoom, dragging and dropping icons, and flicking to quick scroll are all supported within the Tizen UI. Not Just For Smartphones. Tizen may be touted as Samsung’s new Android alternative, but the truth is the software isn’t made just for mobile devices. At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Intel demonstrated an infotainment system for cars that runs on the Linux- based OS. According to Intel, this system would be able to access Google Maps for navigation, change songs stored on the system’s hard drive or output real- time information coming from your vehicle. Tizen’s website notes that the software will eventually be designed for tablets and netbooks as well as smartphones, but it’s also slated to come to Smart TVs. This isn’t very surprising considering Samsung is a major player in pioneering the Smart TV category.
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