Yesterday on the Google homepage, as I was searching for all the answers to every question ever posed, I came across an interesting image (pictured below). It was a monumental advertisement that suggests interesting game play among the tablet makers in the coming months. The tablet mentioned in the advertisement was launched some time ago and can be considered old news. I am not concerned with the divergence between Google and Apple at this time, rather, I find it more interesting that Google just shot a warning blast over the bow of the S.S. Amazon. Google, a company that embodies technological brilliance, first made their move in the tablet market through partnering with Amazon. Today they seem to have put aside that Amaz(on)ing relationship in lieu of their own agenda. Google, one of the kings of tech, may have just made the move to push them to the forefront of the new tablet economy.
The first and most obvious stab at Amazon can be seen in the price point. For under $200 google has launched a competitive and superior product. Why is this product superior, you ask? Simple, it embodies Google, it is the first true Google tablet and that is why it is the first to bear the glorious Google name. This tablet allows them to do what they do best, make an operating system employing all aspects of their network. Have you tried to access your Gmail on a Apple device? It does not offer the same ease of use that an android product fosters. One of the strongest points that Google offers is that its tablet have the “made for play option,” which means that your gaming, apps, and so on are right at your fingertips when you are using your chrome browser or your Google tablet, they are going towards an interface resembling that of Apple.
What it really comes down to is that the Kindle was the Guinea Pig for the Nexus, and the Nexus is undoubtedly the real thing. One of the real strengths that many overlook when it comes to any mobile device is the sheer impact of YouTube. Being that YouTube is an entity of Google, any google product will perform better when accessing this entity. I can go on and on about why the software is better or why the camera facing the user will up the desirability of the project, but if you ware somewhat educated with the ins and outs of google you already knew that. What many have failed to convey is that this dramatically changes the relationship between amazon and Google. Google recently remember that they are a giant in the arena of technology and Amazon is a runt when it comes to anything besides selling goods off of their website. Don’t get me wrong, I like Amazon’s business model, but I prefer putting my faith in Google when it comes to producing amazing one-of-a-kind products.
If you followed the Chromebook story in any shape or form you know that it was considered a flop. The kindle fire can be considered a semi success. When evaluating the potential success of the Nexus, one can only assume from the information given above and the many outside factors (the success of the android phones) will only serve to push the Nexus to the next level. The Kindle Fire, the only decent competition to the Apple iPad product, only took a 22% market share. Imagine if Google could take the follies of their previous products, the Jelly Bean operating system, the new integrated play feature, and combine all those with their community of Android die hard fans and propel themselves to a strong second seed in the tablet market. This could be Google’s moment.
