Google is working on a device that would compete with Apple's iPad, and plans to release it later this year, according to a Google employee who has been briefed on the project. [via NYT]
It was earlier reported that the Google tablet, referred to as the Nexus tablet, would be priced between $149 and $199, making it a Kindle Fire competitor.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google plans to sell co-branded tablets through its own online store, just as it did with the Nexus One smartphones in 2010. The Nexus One, a co-branded phone made by HTC, didn't sell well and Google eventually shut down the store.
Selling a tablet is different from selling a smartphone. Most consumers buy smartphones with a plan and Google couldn't sell plans because it is not a carrier. Tablets, however, sell without plans so Google could well succeed this time.
Google's renewed efforts to sell online will focus exclusively on tablets and Google has reportedly entered into co-branding tie-up with Asustek and Samsung, both leading tablet manufacturers, who will be responsible for the hardware.
It makes sense for Google to open an online store since it will eventually need to sell Motorola Mobility devices, once the company's merger with Google is widely approved.
Google's decision to co-brand and sell tablets through its online store appears to be an attempt to consolidate the Android challenge to Apple's iPad.
Android tablets haven't done as well against the iPad as Android phones have done against the iPhone.
According to figures released by Gartner last fall, Apple dwarfs Android's 17% market share with a 73% slice of the pie.
Google's plans for the Nexus Tablet were first revealed in December 2011 by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt when he told an Italian newspaper that in "next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality."
Comments
Post a Comment