Google, Asustek Co-Brand 7″ Inch Tablet – To Debut In May – Reports

As per reports emanating from Taiwan, which is hub of tablet and smartphone manufacturers, Google’s much awaited tablet is round the corner. Google and Asustek, which is a leading manufacturer of tablets will unveil a 7″ inch co-branded tablet PC to be named Nexus as early as May. This tablet is expected to have price tag of  US$ 199 – 249 and will be targeting Amazon’s Kindle Fire although this tablet will have specifications of a high-end tablet.

As per some Taiwan based industry sources, as quoted in the report, the 7″ inch Nexus tablet will come with the Google Play Store loaded on it. Google will look upon the development of the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for this tablet and also the hardware. This tablet is expected to have a dual-core mobile processor which would be good enough to carry off the operating system smoothly.

Google has been seeking Taiwan-based co-brand partners for development of its tablet since late 2011. Among potential partners, Google zeroed in on HTC, which  had strong design capability but was not interested in develop low-priced tablet to compromise its brand image. Another manufacturer, Acer did not have in-house R&D capability, Google finally selected Asustek because of its capability and good product quality, the sources claimed.

Asustek’s main reason for cooperating with Google could be to win Google’s confidence to facilitate development of its Android-based devices, learn Google’s technology to develop software and content, as well as enter the highly competitive and vast tablet US market, the sources indicated.

After launch of new iPad few days ago and price cut of  US$ 100 on iPad 2, Google will have a good chance to sell its tablet if it is priced around US $ 249. Apple’s entry level  iPad 2 is now priced US$ 399. Google’s Android mobile operating software is already established  and if Google can give good hardware and latest Ice Cream Sandwich within price range of US $ 249 then it will set the tablet market on fire. Wait and see!