Windows 8 isn’t the only tablet operating system (OS) that’s attracting interest from non-smartphone manufacturers.
The rumor that ASUS would be the first manufacturer to provide a Google Nexus tablet for the Android tablet ecosystem is looking far more likely, with AndroidAndMe reporting claims from an anonymous source from within ASUS that the ASUS/Google Nexus is a “done deal”.
While we definitely find the prospect of new manufacturers entering the mobile market via tablets interesting, we’re intrigued by the approach ASUS is reportedly taking with the Nexus tablet.
Traditionally Google Nexus devices have been the flagship for a new Android OS update. The Google Nexus S was the Android 2.3 flagship just like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is the current flagship smartphone for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). As such these two handsets had impressive specs upon their release, competing with many of the highest-end phones in their respective contemporary markets.
What we’re hearing about the ASUS Nexus, however, is that it will retail for around $249-$199. This price definitely suggests that ASUS will be aiming for the lower-end of the market, rather than going head-to-head with the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab lines.
Instead the ASUS Nexus will probably more closely resemble the Amazon Kindle Fire, a low-end tablet with passable specs that was successfully targeted at customers who wanted a portable tablet experience, but didn’t need a super-fast processor or incredible display. The Kindle Fire was so successful around the time of its release that there was talk of the line possibly becoming an “iPad Killer”. These claims were, of course, wildly exaggerated but it still goes to show that, while Android is definitely having trouble competing against the iPad at the premium level, down in the budget-leagues it can succeed almost uncontested by Apple.
It therefore makes a lot of sense that Google would agree for its first Nexus tablet to compete in an area of the market in which it currently has the most likely chance to be competitive. Google pitting its own Nexus line up against the iPad only to get dominated would be an embarrassment. Conversely, throwing it up against something like the Kindle Fire where it will likely be comparatively popular will hopefully assist the image of Android proliferation in the tablet market.
It will be interesting to see in the coming years if the Nexus of tablets slowly climb the ladder an begins to contend for the top-spot, as the Nexus smartphone line did. If so, it will likely indicate a larger and more successful Android presence, thus a more diverse tablet market. However, right now it’s impossible to say. With iPad still reigning supreme and with the Windows 8 tablet range on its way the next year or so in tablets is definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.
Source: AndroidAndMe
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