Holy Cow! Google and Verizon to Launch Chrome OS Tablet

Things are going to look very interesting in the last quarter this year and the first quarter of 2011 when the Google Chrome OS Tablet is released. The mind boggles as to what will happen in the computing war to follow.

It comes as no surprise to most that Google is building a tablet PC. Sources confirm that the tablet is being built by HTC – no surprise there – which also built the Nexus One for Google. And before you ask, Google and HTC plan to offer their tablet on Verizon; recent events on the issue of Net neutrality spring to mind.

The launch date is Black Friday 2010, i.e. November 26th to all you non-US residents. It is also the busiest shopping day of the year. Quite interesting considering that only God knows what type of deals will be on offer to all interested in the products.

Some analysts are speculating that Google might give the tablet away for free with the condition that the customer signs some form of deal with Verizon data contract. This I might add is pure speculation. One thing is for sure though; there will be increasing doubts as to whether Apple will open up the iPad and iPhone to Verizon customers.

You might be wondering what type of hardware the Google tablet will be packing. Initial guess is that it will come based on the Nvidia Tegra 2 platform coming with a 1280x720 multi-touch display, 2GB Ram, 32GB SSD, WiFi/Bluetooth/3G connectivity, GPS, WebCam, and an expandable storage via a card reader.

I for one think it will be nothing short of fantastic, and knowing Google, they will not want to disappoint their legion of fans. You can bet on one thing, the war between Google and Apple has only just begun.

Image from DownloadSquad and can be found here: http://bit.ly/9mLgnq

Barnes & Noble Debuts NOOK For Android As eBooks War Heats Up

Barnes & Noble is launching an Android app for its e-reading platform, Nook, today. Barnes & Nobile already has NOOK apps for the iPhone and iPad. The new app also represents a shift in B&N’s branding; the company will now be brand all of its e-Book platforms and apps with the NOOK name.

NOOK for Android allows users to browse and shop in Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore of more than one million eBooks directly from their mobile device. Any customer’s personal Barnes & Noble eBook library, if it is purchased on a NOOK eBook Reader, online at BN.com or on another BN eReader-enabled device, will sync to their device in so their library goes wherever they go.


NOOK customers can also share some eBooks for up to two weeks with friends, who can read the digital titles on the NOOK eBook Reader, or on any of the NOOK’s mobile apps. The app itself has much of the same functionality as its sister iPhone app, including the ability to access your personal B&N library from the app, the ability to customize your eReading experience by font, size, landscape view, or portrait mode. You can also sort and filter your eBooks by author, title or recent reads. New customers downloading the Android app will get free versions of Dracula, Little Women and Pride & Prejudice as well as samples of two current bestselling eBook in their library.


While it’s good news that Barnes & Noble is expanding beyond Apple’s mobile platform, the space is fiercely competitive. Amazon recently launched an Android app, and slashed the price of its Kindle device. And Apple is now playing in the space with iBooks and the iPad. Plus, Google is expected to launch Google Editions, their e-Book platform soon.
Barnes & Noble recently rolled out a new pricing for NOOK with Wi-Fi at $149, and a new lower price for its NOOK 3G model at $199.


Original piece from TechCrunch and can be found here: http://tcrn.ch/9WmQ0q