[momotomo]

Surprised it's not android based given that it has an app store and some reasonably popular games already. Anything that would stop them moving in that direction?

[amock]

It was around before Android so that's one reason why it's not Android based. I think that becoming just another Android device wouldn't be a good business move either, but I don't have any data to back that up.

[mustpax]

Is trying to attract developers to a niche micro-platform a better business move? Android market might be crowded but it is for good reason. Getting developer mindshare is very very hard.

[momotomo]

Sums up my thinking on it exactly. I can't see this being more than a curious news item if it stays in this format.

[amock]

I agree that it probably won't become a huge success, but I think that if they switch to Android they'll end up with nothing since there's nothing special about the hardware. They'll lose the interest they have now and no one will have a reason to choose this over a cheaper and more available device from another manufacturer.

[juiceandjuice]

I'm sure it can't be too hard to port it.

[mgkimsal]

My understanding is that not every Android device can participate in the app store anyway. Am I misinformed?

[sandyc]

No you're correct, it has to have Google's blessing to have (at least proper, and not hacked) market access.

[aberkowitz]

While Android is great, I hope you realize that it's not some magical operating system that makes every device with it better.

[momotomo]

Agreed, my thinking was mostly about existing customer base and exposure, not the technical side of things.

[wtracy]

I know that at least one hacker is working on getting Android running on these things.