Tecknova

Report claims Google is preparing a 7-inch tablet

Back in December, it was reported that Google’s Eric Schmidt revealed that they were planning to make a tablet of the highest quality. This bit of information was revealed to an Italian newspaper and he also mentioned that it would be made within the next six months. At the time, indications pointed to the fact that it would be a Nexus-like tablet and the primary competition would be none other than the Apple iPad. It seems that this bit of information has been modified a bit and as per a report by CNET, an analyst at DsiplaySearch has revealed that Google does intend to release a tablet and it will have a 7-inch form factor.

A 7-inch tablet from Google coming out soon! (Image for representative purposes only)

The report states that according to DisplaySearch analyst, Richard Schim, “The Google-branded tablet will have a 1280x800 resolution 7-inch display. Production is slated for April. The initial production run is between 1.5 million to 2 million units.” As opposed to the previous report, this tablet may be intended to take on the hot selling Kindle Fire, but the analyst is not certain on this and he states, “I don't know how they plan on marketing it. If it's going to be a premium device or if it's going to be a Kindle Fire type competitor.” Besides the size of the device and the resolution, Richard Shim says that it will run Google’s latest operating software, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, when it is launched. 

Recent rumours suggest that Apple, too are considering entering the 7-inch tablet segment, as their market share is being eaten up by Amazon Kindle Fire. However, suggestions of this Apple tablet may not bear fruit as the late Steve Jobs had always been against the smaller form factor. Later reports indicate that Apple may also launch an 8-inch tablet and that they have been testing screens with this form factor. At the time of the report, sources had indicated, “Officials at some of Apple's suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Cupertino, Calif., company has shown them screen designs for a new device with a screen size of around eight inches and said the company is qualifying suppliers for it.”

Whatever the case may be, it definitely seems that both the companies definitely have 7-inch tablets in the works. Whether or not they make it past prototype stage is yet to be seen. But one thing’s for sure that the competition, if it was hot in the past, it is only going to go beyond melting point now.