The IT gadget race is on. The world leader in online search Google Inc is now venturing into gadgets. The company now plans to launch its tablet in July this year.
It started with the acquisition of Android operating system in 2005 for $50 million and recently the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and now the plans to unveil a new tablet. Google is definitely expanding its horizon.
Speaking at an interview with an Italian newspaper last year in November, Google CEO Eric Schmidt did confirm that the company would be shipping an Android powered tablet in about six months. Google has however remained mum about the plan although various news agencies have reported on the tablet.
The Google 7 inch tablet being developed in close association with Asus, a world leader in electronic manufacturing, will go on retail for US$199 making it one of the low cost tablets in the world.
Rival companies are reported to be doing similar acquisitions. For example, Facebook, which just listed on the Nasdaq, is seeking to acquire its own web browser and is said to launch its own phone by next year.
The pressure for these companies that are listed on the stock exchange, from investors, is for them to be profitable, hence the diversification.
There will be little competition in Africa for the tablet. The iPads and Samsung Galaxy Pads are still not popular in Africa. However, Google’s cheap pad might shift that standing.
In Africa, the Way C tablet went on sale in February this year at a retail price of US$300. The African tablet was made in Congo and it operates on the Android platform. HumanIPO also reported on a medical tablet that was developed in Cameroon by a 24 year-old Arthur Zang.
Many more tablets have been launched in Africa to counter the influence of iPads and Samsung tablet.
