Google's Own Tablet Will Launch This Year: Report

If you haven't found an Android tablet that inspires you yet, you are not alone. But perhaps if there would be an Android tablet built by the people who built Android, that situation wouldn't be quite so common. And that is the exact plan of attack for Google, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The search giant hears you loud and clear and wants to rectify this problem.

If there has been a success story in the world of Android tablets so far, it would be Amazon's Kindle Fire, just because of its low price point and Amazon's ability to show it off to tens of millions of online shoppers per month. But it has an array of shortcomings and many don't even put it in the same category as other high-profile tablets. So Google might be hoping to take the best of both worlds – an affordable tablet that can do everything that an iPad competitor should.

If true, what would likely happen is that Google would partner up with a manufacturer that already has strong ties to distribution and promotion channels, and the two teams would work closely on design and execution. That's the same process Google does now with the Nexus line of Android phones. The likely candidate right now is apparently Asus, a company known for both a positive Google relationship and making affordable electronics. We'll see what happens.

[via WSJ]