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
13 Comments
  • I would absolutely love to see this device come to market! Swype on a tablet would be nice...
  • I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
  • Will there be a webcamera for google talk and future google voip (its what im calling the google+Gizmoproject thing). Add this and a SD card and it beats the ipAD
  • Now this I might just buy.
  • I'm in. Make it Google and they will come!
  • Make it happen,I'm in !
  • Hopefully it will support a stylus instead of just typing, as much as I love Google, I wouldn't buy a tablet unless it had stylus support, it's one of the reasons I wouldn't consider getting an iPad.
  • Yes!!!!!, I cant wait for this to come out in the light. FU Apple and your restrictive ways. Love my Nexus and Google products, this would complete the lineup for sure.
  • Another worthless tablet to hit the market !!??? Someone needs to explain to me what the draw to this thing is ?? or the iPad , checked out one of those and just dont see any need for that thing, especially for the ridiculous prices they are asking for it and all of its short comings ???
  • I'd certainly consider a purchase like that.
  • If it happened it would be inconsistent with Google's message to the developers: Android is for phones, Chrome OS is for netbooks and tablets. Message consistency aside, it might be a good idea with a few caveats. iPad is capitalizing on iPhone's assets via a specialized SDK. We can imagine that a future Android SDK will be capable of dealing with laptop-size screen resolutions in an intelligent way so that the existing applications look decent right away. While Google has been biased towards web applications since day 0, the success of Apple's App Store might have hinted a change in direction or a fork maybe. Anyway, this year's Google I/O should be an exciting event. Kind regards,
    Borys Burnayev
    actioncomplete.com
    GTD for Android and Web
  • Despite how much I love Android, I still will not buy this. My Nexus One is perfect for when I'm out and about and my laptop is easy enough for me to slip in to my backpack for when I go to school. I'd consider buying one if it had Chrome OS, with Android it seems pretty useless to me.
  • DON'T GET THE PURPOSE OF THE IPAD . THEY SAY IT WON'T REPLACE THE LAPTOP R CELLPHONE SO I AM GOING TO B CARRING AROUND THREE DEVICES DON'T THINK SO. PEOPLE R SAYING THAT THEY DON'T NEED IT THEY JUST WANT ONE. MORE POWER TO U. PAYING FOR SOMETHING MY PHONE AND LAPTOP CAN ALREADY DO IS JUST PLAIN STUPID. U KNOW WHAT THEY SAY " A FOOL AND HIS MONEY R SOON PARTED".