14 DAY TRIAL // The next flavor of Google's Android operating system is nearing its release date, and the latest reports on it suggest that we're to see it powering a wide range of tablet PCs, including devices released by Acer or Motorola.
We already learned that Motorola is readying an Android tablet, and rumors just got a little more consistency with Google actively included into the mix.
It seems that the Internet giant is working closely with Motorola on the release of this device, about the same way it did with HTC for the designing of T-Mobile G1, the first Android-based smartphone.
According to a recent article on DigiTimes, the upcoming tablet should be powered by an Nvidia Tegra2 platform, while boasting a 10.1-inch panel from Sharp, which would be thinner than the one on the Apple iPad.
The Motorola Android 3.0-based slate is expected to hit mass production before the end of the ongoing year, which means that it should land on shelves either during the holiday season, or soon after 2011 kicks off.
As for Acer, the company is rumored to have delayed the release of its ARM/Android-based tablet PC until Android 3.0 becomes available.
With Google set to make the new OS flavor available for its partners sometime in the fourth quarter fo the ongoing year, chances are that Acer, the same as Motorola, would launch its device on shelves only in early 2011.
The specifications list of Acer's slate includes a 1GHz processor, the minimum requirement for Android tablets, it seems, but other details on the matter are unknown at the moment.
According to the rumors, Google would plan on enhancing the Android 3.0 OS flavor, supposedly called Gingerbread, to fit the larger screens of tablet PCs, while also optimizing it for this type of devices.
For the time being, no official details on these devices emerged, but info should become available as we near their release date, so stay tuned for more.