The blazing news on the web is regarding Google’s very own Nexus tablet based on the Android platform. But the latest twist in the story goes something like this: This rumored Nexus tablet will not be launched to annihilate the iPad but will rather be positioned against the Kindle Fire, Amazon’s popular tablet. The device is likely to come with a price tag lower than $200.
If that doesn’t make a headline, I don’t know what does. But before we attach more substance to the rumor, let’s look at its basis. I reiterate that this is a rumor and from the looks of it, looks to be sourced shabbily.
1st Problem with the Nexus Tablet Rumor:
The entire brouhaha around the Nexus tablet began with Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt’s remarks to an Italian news daily last month. As per the computer translation of the story, Schmidt had this to say when talking about the mobile market competition:
In the next six months, we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality.
And all hell broke loose with that statement. Nearly every tech devoted website on the web picked up on that line to publish stories of how the Nexus tablet will be launched followed by a revolution in the mobile tech scene.
And now is the time for a closer inspection of things as they stand. Do not forget that this heavily quoted line from Schmidt was a TRANSLATION. No one is sure if those words would be the same had he spoken in English. As has happened countless times before, a few changes here and there during the translation is liable to have a massive impact on our interpretation of the speaker’s words or their meaning.
Additionally, even if we consider the translation to be an accurate one, it’s obvious that nowhere does it indicate that Google is planning a Nexus tablet on its own. While Schmidt’s line might indicate that Google is associated with a tablet, do not forget that it already has done that previously with Motorola’s Xoom. Same is the case with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. Android is Google’s baby which naturally explains why Google markets the platform’s capabilities. And why would a company that markets its own product call it high quality is a question that’s beyond me.
Alas, marketing a tablet and developing a tablet do not share the same connotations. In fact, no person has gone on record with any such plan. It’s just that people form conclusions way too fast. Their guess could even be right – and Google might indeed develop and launch a Nexus tablet soon – but at the moment, that claim doesn’t stand on any kind of firm ground.
2nd Problem with the Nexus Tablet Rumor:
The next thing that I think borders on the ridiculous is the assumption that this Google Nexus tablet will put an end to the Kindle Fire. This imaginative piece of work can be attributed to the crew of Digitimes, a Taiwanese news daily that is notorious for its unreliability when it comes to facts.
In a piece published on 4th January, Digitimes said:
As Google allegedly works towards launching its own tablet to take on the iPad from Apple, a few sources from the upstream supply chain of Google are of the opinion that the company is gearing its attention towards the 7” Kindle Fire from Amazon rather than Apple. However, Google Taiwan has refused to confirm the plans of any such self-branded tablet.
Stop the press!! Now take a closer look at the first line of the above paragraph. It reads “As Google allegedly works towards launching its own tablet”. Simply put, the entire thesis from the paper’s unidentified sources is based on an assumption. The same assumption that we dissected earlier in the article. Now when you see this in the context of Digitimes’ unreliability and Google’s own denial of the claim in the same news story, the hoopla seems to get mellower.
Digitime has itself pointed out the huge assumption that its own sources are making, noting that Schmidt’s non-concise remark has caused many industry watchers to believe that Google will adopt the same strategy in the tablet space as it did with the Nexus smartphones.
Google’s Nexus Tablet: Coming Back to Reality
All said and done, I do want Google to make an Android Nexus tablet. I believe it would be a significant and possibly revolutionary addition to the burgeoning tablet market. All I am saying is that the current news on the tablet is purely based on guesswork. That’s a fact most people are conveniently forgetting.
With so much news on the tablet floating around the web, it’s easy to get caught up. But at the end of the day it boils down to one thing: Just as I cannot conclusively disprove the theory of a Nexus tablet, there is no one who can conclusively prove it. Take the guess for its face value only instead of letting it build-up like that Tech Company.
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