It was just a matter of time before Android worked its way onto netbooks - there have been rumors of Intel supporting it on Atom - and now Freescale Semiconductor, which is literally days at the netbook game, says it's going to put Android on its shiny new RM-based i.MX515 netbook chip.

Its solution is supposed to deliver gigahertz performance, "eye-popping" graphics and eight hours of battery life between charges at aggressive price points.

It told Reuters it thought the widgets could be made for a hundred bucks.

Freescale's reference design, developed with Pegatron, initially called for Canonical's free Linux-based Ubuntu operating system; now it's adding Android, Xandros and HyperSpace.

Whether Android, currently a phone OS - and more promised than realized phones at that - is actually practical on a netbook right now remains to be seen. It's unclear, for instance, what Freescale or its OEMs are going to do for graphics and applications for the thing.

The Texas company, a money-losing Motorola spin-off, claims it expects a wide range of Freescale-based netbook models to be available in the second half in time for the 2009 holiday shopping season - if anybody has any money by then.

It says it's currently sampling the i.MX515 processor to tier one netbook customers. Volume production on the widget is planned for Q2. Support for 3G connectivity, as well as for the Android, Phoenix Technologies and Xandros operating systems, is expected to coincide with volume production.

Xandros' Linux offers integrated applications and an online digital marketplace. Phoenix has an instant-on operating environment called HyperSpace that's supposed to provide extended battery life and smart network connectivity.

Freescale is getting 3G wireless broadband connectivity capabilities from Option and Wavecom.