In 2010, Google unsuccessfully attempted to sell co-branded smartphones on its own. Now, the company is at it again, this time with tablets.
According to insiders, the Internet giant is working on an online store like Apple’s and Amazon’s through which it will sell Android tablets directly to consumers.
“By selling tablets directly to consumers, Google is upping the ante against Apple, which debuted its market-leading iPad two years ago. Android-based tablets made by Samsung and others have been slow sellers by comparison. Last fall research firm Gartner estimated Apple would capture 73 percent of the tablet market versus 17 percent for Android,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
A co-branded tablet from Asus is expected to be released later this year and might be sold on Google’s online site. Google will also be manufacturing its own tablets once its acquisition of Motorola Mobility is approved by Chinese authorities.
“Google is seeking to increase adoption of its Android software so that its search, maps and other services — which generate the vast majority of its mobile revenue through the sale of ads — become mainstays in the mobile-device world,” the article states.
The company has considered various ways to successfully launch the online store, including subsidizing the cost of future tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire or lending its wealth of mass-marketing skills to promote the site.
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