The Google I/O annual developer conference gets under way later today, and rumours abound as to what the Internet giant will announce.
According to a Bloomberg report, Google will unveil a co-branded $199 tablet with Asus. The tablet is said to be dubbed the Nexus 7, and will be a seven-inch device running the latest version of the Android operating system, Android 4.1, Jelly Bean.
Specs are said to include a 1.3GHz quad core processor, NVIDIA GeForce 12-core graphics processor, 1GB RAM, 1 280x800 screen resolution and a 1.2MP front-facing camera. The tablet is also said to come in either 16GB or 32GB models. It is also expected to come with NFC functionality and is said to run Google Wallet and Android Beam.
A Google tablet has been long-rumoured, and would expand the company's “Nexus” line of flagship Android devices, which are currently limited to smartphones. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources close to the project as saying the new tablet will showcase the features of the new Android OS.
If the tablet does come in at the $199 price point, Google could also compete directly with the Amazon Kindle Fire. Microsoft's Surface tablet, on the other hand, is expected to come into the market with a bigger price tag, competing more in the ultrabook space, rather than the lower cost tablet space.
It has also been noted that a Nexus tablet would give Google full control over future software updates - something that has been an issue for the software marker with its other Android tablets due to problems with OEMs and carriers.
Fierce battle
In May, IDC market figures showed Apple had reasserted its dominance in the tablet space in the first quarter of 2012, shipping 11.8 million iPads.
Tom Mainelli, IDC's research director for mobile and connected devices, said at the time: "Apple's move to position the iPad as an all-purpose tablet, instead of just a content consumption device, is resonating with consumers, as well as educational and commercial buyers. And its decision to keep a lower-priced iPad 2 in the market after it launched the new iPad in March seems to be paying off as well."
According to IDC, Amazon, which took second place in tablet shipments in the fourth quarter of last year with 16.8% of the market, has dropped to just over 4% and third place (after Samsung).
“Samsung took advantage of Amazon's weakness to regain the number two position, while Lenovo vaulted into the number four spot, followed by Barnes & Noble at number five,” says IDC.
"It seems some of the mainstream Android vendors are finally beginning to grasp a fact that Amazon, B&N, and Pandigital figured out early on: namely, to compete in the media tablet market with Apple, they must offer their products at notably lower price points," says Mainelli.
"We expect a new, larger-screened device from Amazon at a typically aggressive price point, and Google will enter the market with an inexpensive, co-branded Asus tablet designed to compete directly on price with Amazon's Kindle Fire. The search giant's new tablet will run a pure version of Android, whereas the Fire runs Amazon's own forked version of the OS that cuts Google out of the picture."
IDC programme VP for clients and displays, Bob O'Donnell, says the tablet market is entering a new phase in the second half of 2012 that will reshape the competitive landscape.
"While Apple will continue to sit comfortably on the top for now, the battle for the next several positions is going to be fierce. Throw in ultrabooks, the launch of Windows 8, and a few surprise product launches, and you have all the makings of an incredible 2012 holiday shopping season."
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