Google will retail upcoming tablet through dedicated online store

In December, when Eric Schmidt of Google indicated that the brand was planning on releasing a tablet within the next six months, the Internet went into frenzy with rumours and speculations. Many reports have likened the upcoming and yet officially unheard of tablet with the Nexus tablet, which is similar to the brand’s rather successful, Nexus range of smartphones. Over the past few years, Google have come together with Samsung, with respect to their Nexus smartphones and the latter brand is being hailed as an obvious choice for manufacturing the tablet, but as per a report, it appears that Asus is in contention for manufacturing this tablet. Adding fuel to these rumours, a report by The Wall Street Journal states that the upcoming tablet from Google will be made available through an online Google-only store.

A Nexus branded tablet coming in April or May (Mock up)

The reports states that sources have informed them saying, “Like the Nexus One, some future Android tablets are expected to be co-branded with Google's name, said people familiar with the matter. The company is expected to sell devices from a variety of manufacturers. Google won't make the devices and its existing partners such as Samsung Electronics Co. and AsusTeK Computer Inc. will be responsible for the hardware.” The report states, “One co-branded tablet that may be sold in the online store is due to be released later this year by Taiwan-based Asus, said one of these people. Details of the project remain unclear, including when Google plans to unveil the online store.”

In a related report by Digitimes, regarding the Google tablet, industry sources have informed them saying that Google would be launching a 7-inch tablet, which is cost-friendly by April or May, this year with hardware that is manufactured by Asus. The report goes on to state, “This is expected to bring pressure of price cuts upon other vendors, including Acer, Lenovo and Samsung Electronics, and in turn diminish gross margins for Taiwan-based supply chain makers. Since Amazon's new Kindle Fire, set to launch in the third quarter, is expected to be priced around US$199-299, Google will price its tablet PC at US$199 to even out the price advantage.”

From the looks of it, it appears that as the rumours are gathering steam, it appears that the tablet from Google will be unveiled in the second quarter of 2012. Let us know your reactions regarding it in the comments below.