The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Samsung, Google prepare to launch Nexus tablet

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 10, 2012 - 19:59

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Samsung Electronics and Google are boosting their alliance in preparation to launch a 10.1-inch Nexus tablet PC.

The new tablet will boast a display screen with a pixel density higher than on Apple’s third-generation iPad, Richard Shim, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, told CNET.

“It’s going to be a high-end device,” Shim said, in contrast to Google’s $199 Nexus 7 and upcoming $99 tablet.

Although a Samsung official declined to confirm the report, local industry sources said the process is currently in the works to have the next co-branded Nexus tablet between the two Android partners.

For tablet PCs, Google has rolled out the Nexus 7 tablet with Taiwan’s Asus so far. As for smartphones, two Samsung-Google co-branded handsets have been launched in the global market: the Galaxy Nexus and the Nexus S.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt also said during his meeting in Seoul last week with senior mobile content vice president Andy Rubin for the Nexus 7 tablet launch that the U.S. software giant would partner with more electronics device makers for Android-based tablets.

Schmidt sat down with Samsung’s two top executives ― Choi Gee-sung, head of corporate strategy office at Samsung Group, and the firm’s mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun ― for over an hour at the Korean electronics company’s office in southern Seoul following the Nexus 7 launch event.

On another front, LG Electronics is also preparing to roll out its own Nexus handset which is based on the firm’s new flagship smartphone Optimus G.

The fact that LG will become the third electronics manufacturer to develop the Google’s Nexus has been in the news for months, but it is reported to be gearing up to launch the gadget by the end of this month.

With LG aiming to regain its reputation as the world’s leading mobile phone maker with the new Nexus handset, the phone is expected to come with Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM, a True High Definition IPS display, an 8-megapixel camera and a non-removable battery, according to Modaco, a forum specializing in smartphones and IT devices.

However, LG may not become the only company unveiling the next Nexus smartphone, meaning that it might be one of several handset makers taking part in the process.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)