Google conducting Netbook usability study

Google is seeking users of Netbooks, such as Asus' Eee PC, for a usability study.

(Credit: Asus)

Google is soliciting Netbook users for a usability study, as rumors of Android-powered Netbooks continue to grow.

Google posted an ad on Craigslist Thursday afternoon seeking Netbook users to participate in a Google-hosted study on Netbook usability next week. The company plans to ask participants to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and it will pay them $75 in American Express gift checks for an hour of their time.

On Thursday, CEO Eric Schmidt would not confirm persistent rumors that various PC companies are studying the use of Google's mobile operating system Android on Netbooks. But he did say that "the Netbook phenomenon looks very real," and that Google needs to make sure its various Web services work on Netbooks as those devices grow.

It appears the company is designing new Netbook-friendly applications that appeal to that subset of PC users, or improving existing ones to work on computers with a screen size in between that of a smartphone and laptop. In addition, although Google said right from the start that Android was not an operating system designed exclusively for phones, it might need a few tweaks to be Netbook-friendly.

[forever4now]

I think netbooks are likely to morph into tablets with keyboards. Android would be great for these, since it would allow netbook/tablet vendors to include electronics for cell phone calls & location-based apps as well as accelerometers, etc.

Other Android bonuses include OTA OS upgrades, a touch-optimized UI, super long battery life, an app market for free/paid apps, etc.

Smartphones are leading the change to what could become a whole new paradigm for personal computing.

[ihackmore]

I think they should have opened this up to folks outside the Mountain View area and conducted interviews over video chat. They could get instant usability feedback from webcams built into netbooks or attached to the USB port. Also, in our house, it's the kids who use the netbook. My 15YO took her iGoogle page and brilliantly customized it in ways I didn't forsee.

forever4now, I think we may see an Android phone that communicates over Bluetooth or WIFI tethered to or from an Android netbook, that is, one or the other has the cellular connection. [Both could use the same batteries (multiple in the Netbook) so in a pinch a battery could be swapped to give one device or the other more charge.] The phone then holds all contacts and e-messages, offloading storage and functionality from the Netbook. (I have nearly 2000 unique contacts collected over the years through Outlook/Palm/Phone syncs; some of that is to allow e-mail lists to not be filtered out as spam.) However, I thought T-Mobile's G1 would be able to make calls over WIFI using T-Mobile's Hotspot Anywhere feature. They didn't make that happen, so I still have a Blackberry.

[edmetric]

I'm using my netbook as a personal assistant. Using a SSD and SD card equipped Asus 1000HE, I have language study materials from Jump Start (needs MagicDisc virtual drive) and Transparent Language, diabetic health records using Life Form, Bible study with e-Sword, iPod movies using VLC, family/friend contact using Skype and the usual browsing/email with FireFox. If I could do all that on an iTouch because of the carry size and the virtual keyboard, I'd buy two of them! There're not enough free hot spots or affordable data plans to get excited about connectivity.