Past rumours suggested that Google was looking to have its first own-brand tablet sell for as low as US$199. New details obtained by The Verge suggests that Google’s price goal has pushed the launch from a rumoured May to July.
Citing “sources close to the project,” the report suggests that Google’s manufacturing partner, ASUS, will need to make some design changes to the current design to reduce the price. The current model with a 7-inch display, a quad-core NVIDIA processor, Wi-Fi, and Android 4.0 would likely sell for US$249. With Google aiming to sell its tablet for as low as between US$149 and US$199, ASUS needs to find some cost savings before the tablet can be launched. What changes it could make is not clear at this time but it has some options. It could replace the quad-core processor with a dual-core one. It could also reduce the amount of onboard memory.
Another theory being proposed to explain the delay is that Google wants to launch its tablet with Jelly Bean, the next version of Android. The Verge dismisses this theory, suggesting it would push the launch even further out as the current model is designed for Android 4.0.
Past rumours suggested that Google would unveil its tablet at Google I/O (and perhaps give one to attendees as well). It remains to be seen if this could still happen.
Read more: The Verge