Quick-boot laptops ready for a facelift

Ubuntu Netbook Remix OS, a specialized Linux distribution for netbooks, which comes with an advertised boot time of up to 15 seconds.

Instead of competing, Phoenix wants to embrace other operating systems and mobile Linux OS distributions like Android, said Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. The company is designing its software to do certain things, like running Web applications, better than full-fledged operating systems while using less battery life, he said. Phoenix wants its software to work alongside multiple operating systems.

Top PC makers Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Acer are among the companies aiming to put Android on mobile devices.

The quick-boot environments like HyperSpace and Splashtop are just a few of many mobile computing interfaces that PC makers want to put in PCs, Pund-IT's King said. Many top vendors are trying to put instant-boot capabilities into their laptops, and it's a question of whether people want a smartphone-type or laptop-type experience with their netbooks. If users prefer a laptop-type experience, they wouldn't mind a slightly longer boot time, he said.

"For my money, a 12-second boot time is no big deal, considering how long it has taken standard PCs to boot up," King said.