Numerous reports from
ZDNet
,
Bloomberg
and other publications suggest that Google (NASDAQ:
GOOG
) is preparing a $199 tablet with Asus, which will be unveiled
today at 9:00 a.m. PDT. But can it compete with Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL
), the dominant leader in tablet manufacturing? Google's tablet
will reportedly feature a seven-inch screen, a quad-core
processor from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:
NVDA
), and 1GB of memory. According to
Gizmodo Australia
, the tablet will launch with Android Jelly Bean and contain a
display resolution of 1280×800. That same report claims that the
tablet will come in two varieties (allowing consumers to obtain
8GB or 16GB of memory) and feature a 1.2 megapixel front-facing
camera.
These rumored specs may not live up to the promise of a Google
tablet that will be of the
highest quality
. But this is just the beginning for Google, a company that
pays beautiful women
to wear silly glasses, and is constantly searching for
new ways to make money
.
While a cheap, seven-inch Google tablet might seem like an
appealing alternative to Amazon's (NASDAQ:
AMZN
) Kindle Fire, it may not be enough to stop consumers from buying
an iPad.
But there are bigger fish to fry now that Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT
) has
entered the fray
with its own tablet, Surface. Thus far, the Windows maker has
been very tight-lipped about the tablet's capabilities, focusing
on its unique keyboard covers instead of software content.
Microsoft is expected to be a big player in the tablet industry,
specifically with business users who want full access to Word,
PowerPoint, and other Office programs.
However, a recent DigiTimes report suggested that Surface will
cost
more than $599
. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry anticipates an
MSRP
as high as $800
. At that price, consumers could purchase four Google
tablets.
Regardless, Amazon and Microsoft are likely to be Google's
biggest competitors. Apple has already solidified its position as
the
market leader
. At the same time, the Kindle Fire has garnered
more than 50%
of all Android tablet sales in the United States.
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@LouisBedigianBZ
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