A 10.1-inch tablet to join new Nexus smartphones this year

Oct 9, 2012 08:50 GMT  ·  By

Google appears very happy with the way devices in its Nexus lineup have been received on the market, and appears set to launch not only more of them, but also to add some more variety when it comes to form factors.

Until this summer, the Nexus name has been attached only to smartphones, yet the Nexus 7 tablet PC from ASUS has made a change to that.

New reports suggest that the company is also partnering with Samsung for the launch of an even larger Nexus tablet PC, one that would sport a 10.1-inch screen.

Of course, the first Motorola XOOM was considered at the time of its release to be the first Nexus tablet, yet it did not have the Nexus name attached to it.

Starting this fall, however, more devices might sport Google’s tag on them, including the aforementioned 10.1-inch tablet PC from Samsung.

Along with it, rumor has it that we’ll be seeing new Nexus smartphones coming from manufacturers such as LG Electronics, Samsung, HTC and possibly others.

With more devices and screen sizes available in the Nexus program at one time, Google appears set to ensure that its Android operating system receives a boost in adoption, further consolidating its position at the top of the smartphone market.

At the same time, the company is said to plan making the new tablet PC from Samsung available at the high-end of the market, a break from the affordable Nexus 7 that has been out on shelves for the past several months.

Nexus smartphones have been considered top-of-the-line when made available, and it would not come too much as a surprise if the 10.1-inch device will be marketed the same.

What remains to be seen is whether Google would also make available a new flavor of the Android OS for these new products. It has been rumored to have an Android 4.2 version of the platform in the works for launch in the fourth quarter of the year, yet specifics on what it might include haven’t been yet provided.