Verizon, Google Preparing Android-Based iPad Killer
Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed as much in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and Verizon spokespeople confirmed the device to a number of news sources late Tuesday.
"What do we think the next big wave of opportunities are?" asked McAdam in an interview with the Journal, published Tuesday. "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."
McAdam didn't confirm anything in the way of availability, pricing, manufacturers or other specifics, but according to the Journal, he acknowledged that Verizon is behind AT&T as a carrier for hot e-reading and tablet-style mobile devices. AT&T, for example, carries both Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad.
"They were able to get out of the box faster," McAdam said.
No sooner did Apple release iPad on April 3 that speculation began on how rival tablet devices would rise to the fore -- including one by HP, which is said to be developing a tablet using the WebOS operating system it gained through its acquisition of Palm. Other PC makers like Dell and Toshiba have also mentioned plans to build tablets using Android.
Apple's iPad sold 1 million copies in its first 28 days, according to Apple.
Google's Android OS has emerged as a key mobile OS alternative, appearing in a range of phones and other devices by multiple carriers, including the recent, Verizon-backed HTC Droid Incredible, Google's own Nexus One, and several of CRN's 10 Coolest Smartphones of 2009. According to the NPD Group in a much-cited study, Android-based phones outpaced sales of Apple iPhone OS-based phones in the first quarter of 2010.