Google & Verizon Team Up To Rival iPad

Verizon Wireless is teaming up with Google to work on a tablet computer, with the clear aim to rival the AT&T-carried iPad, Verizon CEO, according to a published report.

The search engine and the wireless phone operator are already pairing up for the Android OS.

Who’s Doing What?
Lowell McAdam, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview:
“We’re working on tablets together, for example. We’re looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience.” He did not provide more information on the role of Google in the tablet and said nothing either of the timing or manufacturer of the device.

Google executive Andy Rubin, in a recent interview with the San Jose Mercury News, said: said, the “Android, which was originally developed for smart phones, is a good match for tablet devices”.

Rubin, who oversees mobile technology for Google, had said software developers could write applications that would run on both Android phones and tablets, just as developers now write apps that can run on both Apple’s iPhone and the iPad.

Growing Demand for Light Entertainment Devices On-the-Go
As consumers expand their use of mobile phones to browsing the web, downloading apps, playing games, listening to music, it is to be expected that the demand for light portable computer devices will consequently rise too. Even more so with access to social media pushing hardest. This is not only true for mobile usage in the U.S. (read our first quarter 2010 report here) but also applies globally.

Apple said it’s sold 1 million iPads within a month of the tablet’s release.

“Apple has most certainly validated the tablet market, with the iPad in conjunction with AT&T, so it’s not surprising that other carriers are going to be looking for other partners to bring other devices to market,” said Michael Gartenberg, a tech industry analyst with the Altimeter Group told the Mercury-News.

Running behind
Apple has left a gap between them and potential competitors as their iPad device is the sole player in the market so far.

Besides, AT&T already beat Verizon in the race with Amazon’s Kindle and now with the iPad.

Verizon’s latest novelty was the KIN mobile for teenagers it co-launched with Microsoft: the device “blends the phone, online services and the PC”, according to Steve Ballmer’s company’s own description.

New Network, New Promises
McAdam also added that the carrier’s pricing may change: “The old model of one price plan per device is going to fall away,” as he expects “bucket of megabytes.”
Among the user benefits to be expected from the new network is a substantially increased video transfer rate.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on the Verizon tablet, but said that android being open source, anyone can use it to create phones and other devices.

The question for Verizon is whether this move to work with Google on an iPad rival will mean that it is shooting itself in the foot and barring itself from carrying Apple’s tablet device at a later stage…

What do you think?