Google and Verizon to Launch Tablet Computer

Add a big new twist to the tablet computing wars. The Wall Street Journal is confirming that Google plans to bring a tablet computer to market with Verizon Wireless.
Although details –- including a name, manufacturer, launch date and operating system (Android () or Chrome OS?) are not yet known — Verizon’s CEO told WSJ,”We’re looking at all the things Google () has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience.”
The news doesn’t come as a total shocker –- last month Google’s CEO reportedly told friends that his company was building a tablet device.
However, the move does exemplify the increasing competition between Apple and Google –- a competition increasingly taking place in the mobile space where recent reports suggest that Android is gaining significant ground on iPhone. The move also casts some doubt as to whether Apple will open up iPad and iPhone to Verizon customers — something that has seemed increasingly likely in recent weeks.
Now, we’ll see this competition play out in the tablet device market, where Apple has an early lead with its iPad selling more than one million units in its first month, and the iPad 3G just hit stores with AT&T as the exclusive wireless carrier.