Google promises to release 'tablet of the highest quality' in 6 months

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has teased that his company plans to release an Android-powered "Nexus" tablet within the next six months to take on Apple's market leading iPad.



Schmidt's comments, in which he said the device will be "a tablet of the highest quality," came in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (via Slash Gear). The comments signal that Google plans to make another push to counter Apple's iPad.



Google's first formal attempt to break into the tablet market came earlier this year with the Motorola Xoom, which ran a tablet-exclusive operating system in Android 3.0. But the Xoom failed to catch on while Apple continued to see record sales of the iPad.



The latest version of the Android, dubbed "Ice Cream Sandwich," unites Honeycomb, the tablet-specific variant of the mobile operating system, with Gingerbread, which was designed for smartphones. It debuted last month on the Galaxy Nexus smartphone.



The Nexus branding is used by Google to highlight "pure" Android devices that ship with the stock version of the operating system. Though Google championed Motorola's Xoom at launch, it did not gain the Nexus branding.







Android tablets have struggled thus far, and even failed to outsell HP's discontinued TouchPad, which saw its sales bolstered by a $99 fire sale. Recent reports have suggested that Amazon's Kindle Fire, which runs a heavily modified version of Android and grants users access to Amazon's own application store, has taken the number two spot in tablet sales since it debuted last month.



Schmidt also confirmed in the interview that Google plans to leverage its own voice recognition technology to compete with Apple's Siri, found in the iPhone 4S. One rumor published last week claimed that Google is preparing its own voice assistant, code-named "Majel," to counter Siri.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 150
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Is this pretty much the same Google/LG Nexus tablet rumor from earlier in the year? I'll believe it when I see it.
  • Reply 2 of 150
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    And every developer is going to be dying to develop for Android soon.







    Google suffers from verbal diarrhea.



    Just you wait, in 6 months, blah blah blah.



    With Android, it's always about 6 months from now, never today.
  • Reply 3 of 150
    majjomajjo Posts: 574member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    Is this pretty much the same Google/LG Nexus tablet rumor from earlier in the year? I'll believe it when I see it.



    I thought the LG rumor was the phone, hence the rumored name nexus prime.
  • Reply 4 of 150
    In seeming unrelated but possibly could be related news:



    British Telecom sues Google on multiple patent breaches




    BT, the U.K. telecoms company, has launched legal action in the U.S. against Google (GOOG-Q622.86-3.10-0.50%) for patent infringement in a number of areas crucial to the U.S. technology group?s search, maps and music services, as well as its Android phone platform.



    BT claims infringement of patents in technologies behind location-based services, navigation and guidance information, as well as access to mobile services and content.



    http://tinyurl.com/7clnd8k
  • Reply 5 of 150
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by majjo View Post


    I thought the LG rumor was the phone, hence the rumored name nexus prime.



    No, I'm pretty certain it was a tablet.



    I'll post the link when I find it. Should be just a few.



    EDIT: This was a fairly easy find. Reported by several different sources earlier in the year.

    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20048237-251.html
  • Reply 6 of 150
    Google's going to sell iPads?
  • Reply 7 of 150
    One would think it was to use Kindle friendly Mirasol though the voice comment seems irrelevant.
  • Reply 8 of 150
    Eric, great hardware isn't your problem (though it is an issue)...



    It's your total cluelessness on user experience and the continued botching of it regardless of the great talent in UX you probably have.



    Problem is when it come to user experience Google is one of those companies that just doesn't get it as an organization... and even with some talented folks they just can get it done.



    I have to give Microsoft, they finally let their talent get product out the door in WinPhone... it's a different take on phone UX and one that works very well if their user model fits your way.
  • Reply 9 of 150
    They must be planning to license iOS, nice.
  • Reply 10 of 150
    lmaclmac Posts: 206member
    Eric Schmidt sure likes to predict great things that will happen 6 months or more from now. That must be how long it takes most of us to forget what he said. The other way to read his latest proclamation is that every Android tablet currently on the market is a piece of crap
  • Reply 11 of 150
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aknabi View Post


    I have to give Microsoft, they finally let their talent get product out the door in WinPhone... it's a different take on phone UX and one that works very well if their user model fits your way.



    In seeming unrelated but possibly could be related news: (Kidding Island Hermit)



    Novell brought suit against Microsoft for anti-competitive behavior (WordPerfect, Quattro), with the trial just ending in a hung jury, 11-1 in favor of Novell. Even the 12th juror was convinced MS was guilty, just not comfortable with the level of harm.



    http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?s...11218130045750
  • Reply 12 of 150
    ? and it will be up against the newly released iPad 3. A bit of competition can?t hurt.
  • Reply 13 of 150
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,008member
    So is the reverse inference that none of the current Android tablets are of the highest quality?
  • Reply 14 of 150
    I can't complain about this. I'd love to see them release a superior tablet.
  • Reply 15 of 150
    We can laugh all we want, but Android already owns the market. He wants to own the tablet market and will eventually get there next year. It's gotten to the point where the differences between Android and iOS is nearly gone. Google did a great job flanking Apple and Jobs with Android...they won before the end of 2011. Its just up and away in 2012.
  • Reply 16 of 150
    lmaclmac Posts: 206member
    As I expected, the Kindle Fire seems to be just crushing the Android tablets at Apple's price point, while the iPad itself continues to sell briskly. So the choice is clear: if you want a cheap tablet, get a Fire. If you want a nice tablet, get an iPad. There is no room for the also-rans, and this explains why so many PC makers have "decided" to exit the tablet market space. But it's not so much that they "decided" as it is that the consumer decided for them.
  • Reply 17 of 150
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    And every developer is going to be dying to develop for Android soon.







    Google suffers from verbal diarrhea.



    Just you wait, in 6 months, blah blah blah.



    With Android, it's always about 6 months from now, never today.



    Is that direct app revenue or does it include ad revenue. I think the latter should be used when dealing with a platform's ability to turn a profit.







    Quote:
    Originally Posted by slapppy View Post


    We can laugh all we want, but Android already owns the market. He wants to own the tablet market and will eventually get there next year. It's gotten to the point where the differences between Android and iOS is nearly gone. Google did a great job flanking Apple and Jobs with Android...they won before the end of 2011. Its just up and away in 2012.



    Someone is looking for negative attention with their post but you missed some key jargon if your playing Troll Bingo.
  • Reply 18 of 150
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by slapppy View Post


    We can laugh all we want, but Android already owns the market. He wants to own the tablet market and will eventually get there next year. It's gotten to the point where the differences between Android and iOS is nearly gone. Google did a great job flanking Apple and Jobs with Android...they won before the end of 2011. Its just up and away in 2012.



    I disagree wholeheartedly that "the differences between Android and iOS is (sic) nearly gone". While anyone who claims one to be clearly superior over the other is not being objective, they are definitely very different OSes. The design philosophies are different. The foundations are different. How you develop for them are different. The feel is different. What you are allowed to do are different. Many apps behave differently on the two platforms.



    Anyone who has truly used both would never say the differences between them are gone.
  • Reply 19 of 150
    sricesrice Posts: 120member
    So if I were an Android partner, selling an Android tablet today, I'd be pretty pissed off that Eric just undermined the sales of my current product.



    "Hi Eric, I'd like to have a one-on-one meeting with you, so I can kick you in the nuts."



    Larry Page, I used to be a huge Google fan, and still am (but much less so -- because, well, ya kinda remind me of Microsoft now). I like what you've done for Google recently -- please fire your ex-CEO. He's a nightmare. I'll like you a lot better once that foob is outta there.
  • Reply 20 of 150
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Even if Google releases a tablet that is not only on par with the iPad in 6 months but BETTER....they are going to face some serious obstacles:
    • Apple is totally dominant in marketshare.

    • Apple has the dominant content delibery ecosystem (iTunes).

    • In 6 months, Apple will be shipping iPad 3's with Retina displays, better cameras, faster processors, much better graphics and who knows what else.

    • The iPad is a household name now. It's going to be even more so in 6 months. Gaining momentum when Apple's iPad will be in an even stronger position? Good luck.

    • There is no "tablet market"--there is a market for iPads and Kindles. People don't say "I want a tablet, let me choose which one is best for me." They say "I want an iPad...or maybe I don't need that much, so I'll go with a Kindle Fire instead."

    • Android continues to suffer from bad fragmentation in phones. This can't be good for their tablets, which in many cases run different OS's than those phones. Apple doesn't have this problem with iOS, the iPad and iPhone.

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