Google and Samsung working on Nexus 10 to rival the Apple iPad
The Nexus 7, branded by Google but made by Asus, has succeeded in turning the heads of reviewers and emptying the wallets of consumers. Buoyed by this success, Google looks set to expand the Nexus tablet range by muscling in on Apple’s territory… a Nexus 10 made by Samsung could be incoming.
According to Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, Google and Samsung are working on a high-end Nexus tablet with a 10.1-inch screen. He told CNET that the tablet would feature a 2,560×1,600 display with a PPI of around 299. If true this would better the 264 PPI of the iPad (third-generation), meaning Apple would lose any advantage of using the Retina Display as a selling point.
Shim suggests this news originates from “supply chain indications,” which adds validity to it. Stating that this is going to be “a high-end device” suggests Google is gunning for Apple and looking to create an Android tablet that competes with the iPad in terms of quality rather than on price. This rumor comes at a time when Apple is preparing to head the other way, with the iPad Mini being a cheaper, 7-inch iOS tablet.
Interestingly Shim also backed up previous claims that Google was developing a new version of the Nexus 7 to retail at just $99. So we face the prospect of a sub-$100 7-inch Nexus tablet and an iPad-baiting 10-inch Nexus tablet being on the market soon. The former could harm the iPad Mini and the latter could harm Apple’s position as undisputed king of the tablet market.
It remains to be seen whether these rumors come true or not, but they’re certainly believable. Taken as a whole they suggest that the tablet market is maturing, with the biggest tech companies in the world fighting tooth and nail to gain control of it. Apple has managed to build a considerable lead to this point, but it would be short-sighted to imagine things will remain that way for ever more.
October 12th, 2012
There’s a LOT more to the quality of the iPad display than just pixel count…