The completely unofficial Android-x86 thread

[mmntech]

Been following this project for the last couple of months. Now I see it's just on the cusp of breaking the top ten most popular Linux (well, Linux-like) distros according to Distrowatch.

Basically, it's a port of Android that allows you to run it on desktop Intel and AMD hardware. The current version out now is 4.4.4 Kit Kat. There are Lollipop binaries available, but they're still in the developer stage.

It's very much a "your mileage will vary" situation right now. It does come rooted though (naturally) so you can tinker around with the guts.
http://www.android-x86.org/

You can use a standard Keyboard and mouse as the HIDs.

Here's my experiences.

Rig 1: Zotec ZBOX Nano
AMD E-350 Dual Core "Brazos" @ 1.6ghz
AMD Radeon HD 6310
4GB DDR-1066
160GB SATA HDD @ 5200rpm
802.11n WiFi / Gigabit Ethernet
HDMI connected to 1080p TV

Rig 1 installs and boots fine. Though it does feel a little sluggish, despite Brazos benchmarking faster than a lot of current ARM chips. Audio will not output over HDMI at all. Spent hours going through the ALSA mixer trying to get it to work. No dice. Apparently it's a common issue. Sound only works out the front headphone port, making it useless for HTPC purposes.

Rig 2: Workshop PC
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ "Manchester" @ 2.0ghz
2GB DDR-400
NVIDIA GeForce GT 210 / AMD Radeon HD 5770
10/100 Ethernet
VGA connected to SXGA display
Integrated analogue audio output

Rig 2 is snappy and runs smooth. Had some issues with installation. Was booting to the command line instead of the GUI. Turns out it was a driver issue with the NVIDIA card. Swapped it for an AMD one and it now runs great.

Apps
App compatibility with x86 hardware is improving and Android x86 also comes with a built in ARM emulator. However, there are still numerous compatibility issues. Here's some I've tested. I'll add more later on.

-Play Store: Works great on both
-YouTube: Works great on Rig 2, has trouble loading videos on Rig 1.
-Android Browser: Works great on both
-Firefox: Works great on both
-Dolphin Browser: Works great on both
-Chrome: Crashes to desktop on startup on Rig 2, haven't tested on Rig 1
-TuneIn Radio: Loads fine but crashes when trying to play back any audio streams
-Sirius XM: Loads fine but crashes when trying to play back any audio streams
-Amazon App Store: Works great on both
-Netflix: Loads on Rig 1 but won't play videos. Crashes to desktop on startup on Rig 2
-Songza: Works great on Rig 2, haven't tested on Rig 1
-Gmail: Works great on both
-Kodi: Works great on both

Conclusions
It does work and performs pretty well but the app compatibility issues don't make it a good candidate for a daily driver OS. It's fun to experiment with though. Especially if you don't own a dedicated Android device. I took it off Rig 1 in favour of OpenELEC. I think I will keep it on Rig 2. If I install Kodi on Rig 2, I'll at least be able to AirPlay Sirius and TuneIn from my phone.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Lollipop build. That should theoretically add full 64-bit support.

 

[lxskllr]

What do you want to do with Androidx86? Is it just to play with? I've been looking at this thread and the their site since you posted it, and I can't think of a single thing I miss on my desktop that I have on Android.

Now doing the reverse; I find that much more interesting...

 

[mmntech]

The initial plan was to load it onto my HTPC so I could have a more holistic media approach (commercial apps plus local playback) without having to buy a Windows license. Since a few key media apps don't work, it's just to play with now.

 

[Ken g6]

I wonder if some of the media apps with DRM didn't run because they thought your Android install was rooted? (Which it is.)

 

[mmntech]

I wonder if some of the media apps with DRM didn't run because they thought your Android install was rooted? (Which it is.)

That's possible. Can't imagine why Songza would be the exception though.