Verizon developing tablet on Google’s Android platform

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Verizon Wireless said Tuesday that it’s working with Google
on a new tablet computer to compete with Apple’s iPad, whose early
success has sent rival tech companies scrambling to catch the next big
wave in mobile computing.

Dell and Toshiba have also said they’re working on tablets that would run on Google’s Android software. Hewlett-Packard,
meanwhile, recently announced plans to buy Palm and use that
smart-phone maker’s software in its own line of tablets and similar
devices.

“Other vendors are not going to stand by and just cede that market to Apple,” said Michael Gartenberg, a tech industry analyst with the Altimeter Group. “We’re going to see more competition in this space.”

The move could also intensify the competition between Google and Apple, two former allies who have butted heads recently as Apple has expanded into the mobile advertising business, and Google has promoted its Android software for smart phones and portable computers.

It also shows that Verizon wants a share of the business that rival wireless provider AT&T has been enjoying with its exclusive arrangement to support Apple’s iPhone as well as the iPad.

Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said he
believes tablets are part of “the next big wave of opportunities” for
his company. His comments were reported first by the Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by a Verizon spokeswoman.

Verizon now carries several smart phones that run on Google’s Android operating system. Verizon
also provides wireless service for several models of “netbooks” —
highly portable, down-sized notebook computers made by other companies
— but it has not yet come out with a tablet.

Apple says it sold 1 million iPads in the first
month since the product was introduced. Before those results were
announced, the IDC research firm had projected that 7.8 million iPads
and similar devices will be sold this year, and more than twice that
number next year.

“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.

Google declined
comment Tuesday, except to say that Android is “open source” and
therefore can be used by anyone who wants to incorporate it into a
smart phone or other mobile device.

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

“We haven’t produced a tablet version of Android
yet, but I think it could be pretty interesting,” said Rubin, who
oversees mobile technology for Google.
He noted that 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.

“All the developer has to do is write one app,” he added. “It’s an extremely powerful concept.”

Verizon’s McAdam did not
elaborate on what role his company would play in developing or selling
an Android tablet, who would manufacture the device or when it would be
available. He also didn’t say if Verizon would subsidize the retail price of an Android tablet as it does with mobile phones. AT&T subsidizes the price of the iPhone, but it does not provide a subsidy for the iPad.

But analysts say that wireless carriers like Verizon want a piece of the profit to be made from the growing popularity of lightweight, mobile computers.

“The wireless carriers are all trying to figure out ways to make money, beyond being stupid pipes” for transmitting data, said Bob O’Donnell, an IDC analyst.

Verizon’s announcement also left some analysts and tech bloggers speculating on what it means for the growing rivalry between Google and Apple. By aligning with Google on a tablet, some wondered if Verizon may be sacrificing its chances to someday carry a version of Apple’s iPhone.

But Gartenberg noted that tech industry partnerships
and rivalries are constantly shifting. “The industry moves so fast,” he
said. “There are deals, and renegotiated deals, and renegotiation of
renegotiated deals.”

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