Watch out , iPad : Google may be getting into the pad game . In a move redolent of its late step into mobile telephone set design , Google is reportedly working on its own usance Android - powered tab .

Most of the specifics are still obscure — what have a Google tablet would admit , for example , or who would manufacture it — but if there ’s one matter we can count on , it ’s with whom a Google - made tablet would compete .

Google Android tablet: What we know

The Google Android tablet news come by way of a account published inThe New York Timeson Sunday . The story , a man about upcoming rivalry to Apple ’s iPad , states that Google is currently “ search the estimate ” of creating its own tablet calculation gimmick . The gadget is described as “ an due east - proofreader that would run like a data processor . ”

The information , agree toThe Times , come straight from the big dog ’s back talk : Google CEO Eric Schmidt is said to have give away the Google pill scoop while jaw with friends at a recent political party in L.A. Other insider purportedly confirmed the conception .

“ People with direct knowledge of the task — who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorised to talk publicly about the twist — say the company had been experiment in ‘ stealth mode ’ with a few publishers to explore delivery of books , magazines and other message on a tablet,”The Timesreports .

Envisioning a Google Android tablet

Knowing the principles of theAndroid operating system , one can make a few educated guess about what a Google Android tablet could be and how it might equate to Apple ’s iPad . First and foremost , it ’d likely be a far more open twist in terms of customization : While Apple tends tomaintain a squiffy grip on its drug user experience , Android - free-base devices typically allow users to configure the interface to their liking and supersede stock components as they choose .

The same principle applies to applications : Compared toApple ’s highly controlled approach to app development and approval , Google ’s Android Market for apps let anyone to take and publish program without examination . Android - power devices — with the exception of those that run on AT&T — also allow user download apps from unofficial third - party source . One would imagine these quality would be among the canonical tenets of a Google - made Android tablet .

Along those same lines , a Google Android pad would likely provide support for Flash — somethingApple has long forbiddenon its roving computing equipment . The existence of an open app marketplace could also mean contiguous sustenance for tethering , as we ’ve examine happen via third - party utilities on Android phones . And , of course of study , any Android pad of paper would presumptively provide feature - rich apps for Google services such as Gmail and Google Voice , something Apple also does not permit .

As for the twist ’s form , Google has previously publishedconceptual imagesof how a Google - centrical tab might look . Those construct , however , revolved around the idea of a Chrome OS - base tablet , so they may or may not apply to an Android - based pattern .

Google Android tablet: A reality check

It ’s play to imagine what a Google Android pad of paper could do , but do n’t let some of the headlines out there fool you : From what we know so far , there ’s no cause to believe a Google - made Android tablet is an “ at hand ” or even a certain thing .

take back over what the info provided byThe New York Timesactually states : Google is “ exploring the musical theme ” of building a tablet twist . It is “ try out ” with possibilities . Despite some bloggers ’ tendency to fill in the blanks with with child word , there ’s no indicant that this is a done hand , let alone something that ’s probable to occur at any present moment .

We do have it off , however , that aslew of Modern tabletsis on the way for 2010 , and many of them are require to be power by Android . So whether or not Google ends up building its own tablet , legion new options will shortly be direct our way . The iPad may have been the first serious contender , but it wo n’t be the only one for long .