6 ms·

Google Developing Tablet to Take on iPad

64 points by mun411 17y ago

alexro 17y ago
Google developing <X> to take on <Y>: example: X = 'buzz', Y = 'twitter'
mbreese 17y ago
I'd be disappointed if they weren't. Unfortunately, it seems like this will be based on Android as opposed to ChromeOS. After playing with ChromeOS on a Dell Mini for a while, I can say that it is just screaming for a tablet to put it on. Choosing Android is probably the smart thing in order to get apps on it, but I'd love a Chrome tablet.
- gaius 17y ago
  A tablet interface is very different from a desktop interface with an on-screen keyboard.
- apower 17y ago
  Both are just enhanced Linux. Let's call the tablet Linux-based.
Anon84 17y ago
Another Nexus?
- theBobMcCormick 17y ago
  I certainly hope so. The Nexus one is an absolutely awesome phone. Not to mention it completely re-set the expectation bar for the various Android handset manufacturer. (witness how most of the Android handset's announced post-nexus one have snapdragon processors and specs very similar to the nexus).
joubert 17y ago
Will one be able to get paid-for apps that aren't ad-supported, mewonders.
- nuclear_eclipse 17y ago
  Why wouldn't you? Paid-for apps have been available for over a year now on the Android Market, assuming you live in a region where Google can take payments from...
  - joubert 17y ago
    I don't know anybody with an Android phone, so I will ask: so you can have a phone experience without ads all over the place? I just assumed that you might have ads here and there, since that is Google's business model.
    - zaphar 17y ago
      I don't remember the last time I saw ads on my nexus phone. I think I had an app once months ago that had in app ads but that's the only one that comes to mind. IME they are far from the norm on the phone.
jhancock 17y ago
I've been playing with Palm's WebOS. I think they've made some good trade offs in their development stack. I see no reason Palm or someone that acquires them couldn't upsize the Pre into a tablet.
- fnid2 17y ago
  I just got a pre based on some advice here about WebOS and it's a beautiful system. I haven't started developing for it yet, but it handles javascript websites great and the interface is great. I'm excited about it. I think time will tell, but I'm happy with my decision. I see people with their iphones and their blackberries and such and I know i am going to have a much better experience. Plus, I feel free with the phone. Not locked in like with Apple and not spied upon like with google.
- naner 17y ago
  WebOS actually is pretty cool, it's too bad that Palm wasn't able to really compete with Apple and Google.
warfangle 17y ago
With Google's repository of digitized books, they seem better-poised for the ebook market than even Amazon.
cwilson 17y ago
Am I the only one starting to see a pattern here? Why is Google suddenly following in Apple's footsteps after every new product?
- enjo 17y ago
  I can confirm that Google has been working on this for quite awhile. At least 2 years in one way or another. They anticipated the move into tablets and a lot of the work of maturing the Android platform has gone towards that. In this case, they're not following by any stretch. Oh, and while we're at it: It's not like Apple is the first touch enabled Tablet to ever come to market. I would argue that the iPhone is an incremental improvement on the Palm products (the first non-stylus gesture based app I used was SnapperMail way back on the second gen Palm devices).
  - dustingetz 17y ago
    the iphone might have been an incremental idea, but that's pretty much irrelevant.
  - cwilson 17y ago
    Could you really name a touch enabled Tablet to me without searching? I know I couldn't name one. There is also that nifty little stat about Apple being the worlds largest Tablet seller after their first day, so when it really comes down to it, they are the first. Even if you don't count the above it's still the first Tablet worth a damn. As for Google not following Apple... perception is everything. Consumers and really anyone following this epic battle will gloss over when someone tells them "well Google has been working on this for 2 years!" and simply remember that Apple did it first, Google was second, just like the iPhone and Android (I believe the same argument can be made there too but no one really remembers or cares about that).
    - memetichazard 17y ago
      In search, Google was not first - yet most people use Google today. Gmail was not first - yet I'm sure it's got a decent slice of the market. Chrome was not first - yet it's been gaining steadily. In a few years nobody will care who was first, just who is current.
swombat 17y ago
The whole Android vs Chrome OS thing smacks of a badly planned platform strategy. Seems like both OSes are suitable for tablets, and both are being developed (by different departments, no doubt) for that purpose.
- orangecat 17y ago
  Yeah, I don't get the point of Chrome. If all you need is a browser, then just run a browser under Android. That said, if Google can produce a tablet that is to the iPad what the Nexus One is to the iPhone, I'm in.
- natrius 17y ago
  Android is for touch screens. Chrome OS is for netbooks. A Chrome OS tablet would be a bad idea. An Android netbook would also be a bad idea. They're built around different input methods.
- dminor 17y ago
  Google is a search company. Their platform strategy is "encourage open platforms".
richcollins 17y ago
Google is starting to feel like Microsoft. They're trying to compete everywhere instead of focusing on their core competencies.
- buster 17y ago
  With the big difference that googles products usually dont lock you in and give users choice, also googles software is usually free. Sounds like good competition.
- dustingetz 17y ago
  their core product is advertising; and all these other services exist to augment such. google's leadership is quite clearly on their A game.
  - cabalamat 17y ago
    You're right. If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms, Google will lose big time. Google therefore needs to prevent that future from happening.
    - cgranade 17y ago
      This cannot be emphasized enough-- Google does not want a future where their entire business model can be effectively turned off by another company. This is why they fight for openness in platforms, and for net neutrality. For Google, playing nice in those ways isn't a moral decision, but a business decision that has served them very well.
      - ErrantX 17y ago
        While that is certainly true I think it is also a little unfair to Page/Brin et al to shine it in only that light. I think they've demonstrated that they believe it is the moral thing to do as well.
        17y ago
terryjsmith 17y ago
Is there a business reason behind playing catch up in big companies? I understand there's a market opporunity, but so many of these "copy cat" products fail to live up to their potential simply because they are side projects (especially something like this to Google). It seems this is quite a trend for Palm, MS, Google and other megacorps and it rarely turns out well.
- blhack 17y ago
  >Is there a business reason behind playing catch up in big companies? Yes, it's called "letting other companies subsidize your market research". I don't know that the copy cats are really failing to live up to anything. I'd say that android is a glowing success. Not only that, but if google builds and android-based tablet, it might force apple to de-suckify the iPad. Competition is good for everybody including the companies that are competing; it incubates innovation.
- mbrubeck 17y ago
  "It seems this is quite a trend for Palm, MS, Google and other megacorps and it rarely turns out well." Windows, Google web search, Office, XBox, Google Maps, GMail, and many other big successful products started out in markets that were initially defined and led by competitors.
- theBobMcCormick 17y ago
  Being a "copycat" seemed to work well for Apple with the original iPod, which was a long way from the first handheld MP3 player.
scorxn 17y ago
What are the odds Google could offer free 3G with the device? Kindle pulls it off, but builds the cost into content. Maybe a new ad network?
bond 17y ago
Good competition is never a bad thing...
timf 17y ago
I'm more interested in this Adam tablet (also based on Android). It can do BOTH e-ink (best feature of the Kindle) and full color LCD: http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php
- proee 17y ago
  FYI, it's not sporting e-ink but rather a transflective display. Not even close to what the kindle is using...
  - timf 17y ago
    Thanks for pointing that out, I embellished too much by saying it _is_ e-ink
hyperbovine 17y ago
It's interesting to see tablets being knighted as the Future of Computing by MSM and the tech industry when it's not at all clear that people actually want them. After controlling for the fanboy & factor, reviews for the iPad seem to be mixed. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that the form factor just might not be a good match for a lot of people.
- axod 17y ago
  It's a very funny bubble to watch. I just can't see it going mainstream.
  - ZeroGravitas 17y ago
    Apple's move seems to be based partly on the success of the iPhone but partly on the fact that they can't make a cheap, intel netbook without destroying their brand values, and can't make an ARM netbook without breaking compatability. (The latter applies to Microsoft too). The fact that you can buy an external keyboard (a very un-Apple move) suggests they'd have shipped a conventional laptop form factor if they could get away with it. I'm hoping the Apple ARM tablet leads to Android tablets which will then open the door for those ARM netbooks we've been promised for the last couple of years.
    - Perceval 17y ago
      >...they'd have shipped a conventional laptop form factor if they could get away with it. One can imagine some combination of Apple's old 12" Titanium PowerBook and the new MacBook Air into a MacBook Air Nano. Still, it's not clear how attractive that kind of form factor would be as a netbook offering.
    - jodrellblank 17y ago
      > The fact that you can buy an external keyboard (a very un-Apple move) So you buy a £50 Apple bluetooth keyboard to connect to your $500 iPad so you can use the $10 iWork suite to do less than you could on your $1x00 Apple laptop? Sounds like a very Apple move.

64 points by mun411 17y ago

Google developing <X> to take on <Y>: example: X = 'buzz', Y = 'twitter'

I'd be disappointed if they weren't. Unfortunately, it seems like this will be based on Android as opposed to ChromeOS. After playing with ChromeOS on a Dell Mini for a while, I can say that it is just screaming for a tablet to put it on. Choosing Android is probably the smart thing in order to get apps on it, but I'd love a Chrome tablet.

gaius 17y ago
A tablet interface is very different from a desktop interface with an on-screen keyboard.
apower 17y ago
Both are just enhanced Linux. Let's call the tablet Linux-based.

Anon84 17y ago

Another Nexus?

theBobMcCormick 17y ago
I certainly hope so. The Nexus one is an absolutely awesome phone. Not to mention it completely re-set the expectation bar for the various Android handset manufacturer. (witness how most of the Android handset's announced post-nexus one have snapdragon processors and specs very similar to the nexus).

joubert 17y ago

Will one be able to get paid-for apps that aren't ad-supported, mewonders.

nuclear_eclipse 17y ago
Why wouldn't you? Paid-for apps have been available for over a year now on the Android Market, assuming you live in a region where Google can take payments from...
- joubert 17y ago
  I don't know anybody with an Android phone, so I will ask: so you can have a phone experience without ads all over the place? I just assumed that you might have ads here and there, since that is Google's business model.
  - zaphar 17y ago
    I don't remember the last time I saw ads on my nexus phone. I think I had an app once months ago that had in app ads but that's the only one that comes to mind. IME they are far from the norm on the phone.

jhancock 17y ago

I've been playing with Palm's WebOS. I think they've made some good trade offs in their development stack. I see no reason Palm or someone that acquires them couldn't upsize the Pre into a tablet.

fnid2 17y ago
I just got a pre based on some advice here about WebOS and it's a beautiful system. I haven't started developing for it yet, but it handles javascript websites great and the interface is great. I'm excited about it. I think time will tell, but I'm happy with my decision. I see people with their iphones and their blackberries and such and I know i am going to have a much better experience. Plus, I feel free with the phone. Not locked in like with Apple and not spied upon like with google.
naner 17y ago
WebOS actually is pretty cool, it's too bad that Palm wasn't able to really compete with Apple and Google.

warfangle 17y ago

With Google's repository of digitized books, they seem better-poised for the ebook market than even Amazon.

cwilson 17y ago

Am I the only one starting to see a pattern here? Why is Google suddenly following in Apple's footsteps after every new product?

enjo 17y ago
I can confirm that Google has been working on this for quite awhile. At least 2 years in one way or another. They anticipated the move into tablets and a lot of the work of maturing the Android platform has gone towards that. In this case, they're not following by any stretch. Oh, and while we're at it: It's not like Apple is the first touch enabled Tablet to ever come to market. I would argue that the iPhone is an incremental improvement on the Palm products (the first non-stylus gesture based app I used was SnapperMail way back on the second gen Palm devices).
- dustingetz 17y ago
  the iphone might have been an incremental idea, but that's pretty much irrelevant.
- cwilson 17y ago
  Could you really name a touch enabled Tablet to me without searching? I know I couldn't name one. There is also that nifty little stat about Apple being the worlds largest Tablet seller after their first day, so when it really comes down to it, they are the first. Even if you don't count the above it's still the first Tablet worth a damn. As for Google not following Apple... perception is everything. Consumers and really anyone following this epic battle will gloss over when someone tells them "well Google has been working on this for 2 years!" and simply remember that Apple did it first, Google was second, just like the iPhone and Android (I believe the same argument can be made there too but no one really remembers or cares about that).
  - memetichazard 17y ago
    In search, Google was not first - yet most people use Google today. Gmail was not first - yet I'm sure it's got a decent slice of the market. Chrome was not first - yet it's been gaining steadily. In a few years nobody will care who was first, just who is current.

swombat 17y ago

The whole Android vs Chrome OS thing smacks of a badly planned platform strategy. Seems like both OSes are suitable for tablets, and both are being developed (by different departments, no doubt) for that purpose.

orangecat 17y ago
Yeah, I don't get the point of Chrome. If all you need is a browser, then just run a browser under Android. That said, if Google can produce a tablet that is to the iPad what the Nexus One is to the iPhone, I'm in.
natrius 17y ago
Android is for touch screens. Chrome OS is for netbooks. A Chrome OS tablet would be a bad idea. An Android netbook would also be a bad idea. They're built around different input methods.
dminor 17y ago
Google is a search company. Their platform strategy is "encourage open platforms".

richcollins 17y ago

Google is starting to feel like Microsoft. They're trying to compete everywhere instead of focusing on their core competencies.

buster 17y ago
With the big difference that googles products usually dont lock you in and give users choice, also googles software is usually free. Sounds like good competition.
dustingetz 17y ago
their core product is advertising; and all these other services exist to augment such. google's leadership is quite clearly on their A game.
- cabalamat 17y ago
  You're right. If the future of computing is Apple's locked down iPad and iPhone platforms, Google will lose big time. Google therefore needs to prevent that future from happening.
  - cgranade 17y ago
    This cannot be emphasized enough-- Google does not want a future where their entire business model can be effectively turned off by another company. This is why they fight for openness in platforms, and for net neutrality. For Google, playing nice in those ways isn't a moral decision, but a business decision that has served them very well.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      While that is certainly true I think it is also a little unfair to Page/Brin et al to shine it in only that light. I think they've demonstrated that they believe it is the moral thing to do as well.
      - 17y ago

terryjsmith 17y ago

Is there a business reason behind playing catch up in big companies? I understand there's a market opporunity, but so many of these "copy cat" products fail to live up to their potential simply because they are side projects (especially something like this to Google). It seems this is quite a trend for Palm, MS, Google and other megacorps and it rarely turns out well.

blhack 17y ago
>Is there a business reason behind playing catch up in big companies? Yes, it's called "letting other companies subsidize your market research". I don't know that the copy cats are really failing to live up to anything. I'd say that android is a glowing success. Not only that, but if google builds and android-based tablet, it might force apple to de-suckify the iPad. Competition is good for everybody including the companies that are competing; it incubates innovation.
mbrubeck 17y ago
"It seems this is quite a trend for Palm, MS, Google and other megacorps and it rarely turns out well." Windows, Google web search, Office, XBox, Google Maps, GMail, and many other big successful products started out in markets that were initially defined and led by competitors.
theBobMcCormick 17y ago
Being a "copycat" seemed to work well for Apple with the original iPod, which was a long way from the first handheld MP3 player.

scorxn 17y ago

What are the odds Google could offer free 3G with the device? Kindle pulls it off, but builds the cost into content. Maybe a new ad network?

bond 17y ago

Good competition is never a bad thing...

timf 17y ago

I'm more interested in this Adam tablet (also based on Android). It can do BOTH e-ink (best feature of the Kindle) and full color LCD: http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php

proee 17y ago
FYI, it's not sporting e-ink but rather a transflective display. Not even close to what the kindle is using...
- timf 17y ago
  Thanks for pointing that out, I embellished too much by saying it _is_ e-ink

hyperbovine 17y ago

It's interesting to see tablets being knighted as the Future of Computing by MSM and the tech industry when it's not at all clear that people actually want them. After controlling for the fanboy & factor, reviews for the iPad seem to be mixed. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that the form factor just might not be a good match for a lot of people.

axod 17y ago
It's a very funny bubble to watch. I just can't see it going mainstream.
- ZeroGravitas 17y ago
  Apple's move seems to be based partly on the success of the iPhone but partly on the fact that they can't make a cheap, intel netbook without destroying their brand values, and can't make an ARM netbook without breaking compatability. (The latter applies to Microsoft too). The fact that you can buy an external keyboard (a very un-Apple move) suggests they'd have shipped a conventional laptop form factor if they could get away with it. I'm hoping the Apple ARM tablet leads to Android tablets which will then open the door for those ARM netbooks we've been promised for the last couple of years.
  - Perceval 17y ago
    >...they'd have shipped a conventional laptop form factor if they could get away with it. One can imagine some combination of Apple's old 12" Titanium PowerBook and the new MacBook Air into a MacBook Air Nano. Still, it's not clear how attractive that kind of form factor would be as a netbook offering.
  - jodrellblank 17y ago
    > The fact that you can buy an external keyboard (a very un-Apple move) So you buy a £50 Apple bluetooth keyboard to connect to your $500 iPad so you can use the $10 iWork suite to do less than you could on your $1x00 Apple laptop? Sounds like a very Apple move.