Google may sell a Nexus-branded Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" tablet made by LG this year. No word on whether this is a test device or a go-to-market slate.
Google has
reportedly tapped phone maker LG to build an Android 3.0, or "Honeycomb,"
for the search engine's Nexus brand, which has been accorded to two smartphone
lines to date.
Citing a
report from Russian blog
Mobile Review, Boy Genius Report said the Nexus
tablet would be used as Google's base for development when it's launched in
mid-summer or early fall.
"It is
important to keep in mind that this device could be an engineering prototype
used by Google internally for Android-tablet development,"
BGR noted.
Google
declined to comment to eWEEK, though most industry watchers believe a Honeycomb
tablet designed by Google would hold true to the Nexus formula in including
only Google-approved software. Nexus-branded smartphones, such as the HTC-built
Nexus One and Samsung Nexus S, were co-designed sans carrier between Google and
their respective makers.
Knowing that
the alleged Nexus tablet would run Honeycomb explains a lot about the product
since that tablet-optimized defines the entire Android slate ecosystem at this
point. Honeycomb slates include
Motorola Mobility's Xoom, the forthcoming
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 slates, and, of
course, the
LG G-Slate.
Less clear is
whether the device is WiFi only or, WiFi plus 3G-enabled, and if it is the
latter, what carriers would sell the Honeycomb tablet. Moreover, it's unclear
what the pricing would be if the machine evolves from prototype to market.
The WiFi-only
Xoom costs $599, the same as the 4G version Verizon Wireless sells with a
two-year data contract. The LG G-slate will cost $529 with a two-year deal from
T-Mobile. Samsung will sell its tablets for less than $500 this June.
If Google's
Nexus smartphone pricing scheme applies to the tablet, the company will sell it
unlocked for the cost of the device, or with a reasonably priced carrier deal.
Google
launched the Nexus One smartphone in January 2010,
selling the Android 2.1 handset unlocked for $529
or with a two-year contract from T-Mobile for $179.
The device,
sold only through a Google-owned and -operated Webstore, carried only software
vetted by Google itself. With the Nexus One, Google had taken the carriers out
of the equation so that Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps, search and YouTube
were included without the usual assortment of carrier applications, also known
as "bloatware."
The Nexus One
didn't take off the way Google hoped, as consumers shied away from buying a
phone sight unseen. Google
shuttered its Webstore and began offering the
Nexus One as a test unit.
Rather than
punt the Nexus line, Google returned last December with the Samsung Nexus S, a
smartphone based on the new Android 2.3, or "Gingerbread," OS
featuring native near-field communication support. This device is
currently offered unlocked for $529 or for $199
with a two-year T-Mobile deal.
Sprint is
launching a Samsung Nexus S 4G this spring,
providing the third smartphone in the Nexus line.
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