Google reportedly working on its own Android-based tablet

Might Google be working on an Android-based tablet? The New York Times says yes (and there's really no reason for anybody to think that Google doesn't have a host of new products being tested underground somewhere), reporting that Google CEO Eric Schmidt was blabbing about it recently.

[Schmidt] told friends at a recent party in Los Angeles about the new device, which would exclusively run the Android operating system. People with direct knowledge of the project — who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorized to speak publicly about the device — said the company had been experimenting in “stealth mode” with a few publishers to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.

With the advent of the Nexus One, there's no doubt that Google's capable of launching and growing its own product. (OK, headaches included.) Is some sort of slate/tablet/e-reader on the horizon? No reason why there couldn't be. [NYTThanks to everybody who sent this in.

Phil Nickinson