Every once and a while, Google likes to cosy up to a handset maker of their choice and design a truly world class smartphone to show the rest of the Android ecosystem just how it’s done.
The idea here is basically to put together a reference device that conforms to all of the standards Google wants to see in an Android device. Ostensibly, Android is an open piece of software, so Google’s trying to subtly guide handset makers in how they should approach designing Android smartphones, not just now, but in the future. They are also a way for Google to sell an Android device directly to consumers that they can guarantee will be able to accept all future Android updates, and which won’t be loaded with other, third-party software insisted upon by device makers.
So far, Google’s released two such devices, each under the Nexus moniker. The first was the Google Nexus One, and it was built by HTC, who also worked with Google on the first Android phone, the G1. Next, Google partnered with Samsung to release the Nexus S, a rebranded and slightly tweaked version of Samsung’s popular Galaxy S series of smartphones.
Now Google is working on a new Nexus device, but unlike past exercises, this device isn’t a smartphone: it’s a tablet. According to reports, Google is working with LG on a Google Nexus Tablet which will run Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb and be available for sale either later this summer or early in the fall.
If you’re going to buy an Android tablet over an iPad, I’d recommend that you wait for the Nexus Tablet. It’ll be a state-of-the-art device that will get all updates to the Android operating system in a timely manner, and you won’t have to risk your tablet being left behind as Honeycomb improves.
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