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Asustek has allocated engineers to develop an Android-based netbook by as early as the year end, Samson Hu, head of the Taipei-based company’s Eee PC business, said in an interview yesterday. Asustek hasn’t decided whether to proceed with a final product because the project is still under development, he said.

An Android-powered notebook would extend Google’s rivalry with Microsoft into the market for software that runs personal computers, where Windows controls more than 90 percent of the market. Netbooks, scaled-down laptops that offer basic e-mail and Internet functions, are the fastest-growing segment of the PC industry, with shipments projected to almost double this year as the overall market slows.

“With the strength of Google behind it, Android could really challenge Microsoft and steal some market share,” said Calvin Huang, a computer-industry analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Taipei. “The benefit is the free license and you can use a lower-power, cheaper processor.”