Google Tablet Not Due Until July: Report

Although Google hasn't even officially announced that it's working on its own tablet, there are already reports that it's being delayed. The device will not be ready until at least July, because Google is still working on tying a bunch of loose ends together to keep costs low. That is what a new report citing unnamed sources claims to have heard. The tablet is projected to be under $200.

Rumors of the device first circulated back in December, and they were all the same: Google wants to create an affordardable Android tablet that is more powerful than its price suggests, it will have the most up-to-date version of Android, it will have a 7-inch display, and it will tap either Samsung or Asus to head up the manufacturing. It's expected the device will carry the "Nexus" label, like the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus smartphones.

It seems the likely candidate right now is apparently Asus, a company known for both a positive Google relationship and making affordable electronics. If there has been a success story in the world of Android tablets so far, it would be Amazon's Kindle Fire, just because of its low price point and Amazon's ability to show it off to tens of millions of online shoppers per month. But it has an array of shortcomings and many don't even put it in the same category as other high-profile tablets. So Google might be hoping to take the best of both worlds – an affordable tablet that can do everything that an iPad competitor should.

[via The Verge]