Is Google launching an attack on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Nobles’ Nook? Yes, if you believe multiple Internet reports.
The Digital Times is reporting that the Google Nexus tablet will be powered by Google’s new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and feature a 7-inch panel, similar to the Kindle’s.
In December 2011, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that his company planned to bring a Google Nexus tablet to market some time within the next six months. The Google Nexus tablet would be priced at $199, well below the cost of an Apple iPad and other tablets that use the Android operating system.
But does “bring a Google Nexus tablet to market” mean that Google intends to manufacture an electronic tablet device, or merely to help in the marketing of another company’s device that uses Google’s Android technology?
A spokesperson with Google’s manufacturing facility in Taiwan, tells reporters they have not heard about any plans to launch a new tablet product.
Google has already contributed to the marketing campaigns of two Android-operated devices. In February 2011, the company introduced the Android Honeycomb operating system powering the Motorola Xoom tablet at a special event in its Mountain View headquarters. In May 2011, Google touted the Samsun Galaxy Tab, which also deploys an Android operating system.
There have been fears that if Google did go ahead with the launch of a new Android-based tablet model, it would undercut sales of the Motorola Xoom and Samsun Galaxy Tab, both disappointingly low to date. However, the Motorola Xoom and the Samsun Galaxy Tab are priced in the $500 range.
If Google is planning to launch the Google Nexus, they will most likely make an announcement at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show that begins on January 10.