Android Tablet Update

You probably remember the ASUS MeMO 370T from CES as we freaked out a bit when NVIDIA pulled it out during their press conference and reeled off a laundry list of fantastic specs and then dropped the bomb on us that it would retail for $250. The basic response to that was “give it now!” But of course as with many products that we see at CES, we had to wait.

In the last couple months we have had a few indications that this one might be worth the wait as the ASUS MeMO 370T may now be doing duty as the first Nexus tablet, which our sources have confirmed will most likely come to market as the Nexus 7 (Yes, that is one better than those pesky Nexus-6 units in Blade Runner).

As yesterday’s rumor indicated, the Nexus tablet could bring with it the first taste of Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) and may indeed bear the Tegra 3 processor, which was previously rumored to be dropped to bring the price of the tablet down to the insanely low price of $149-199 that we have reported previously.

Today the ASUS MeMO 370T has passed through the FCC with just WiFi radios on board, which is certainly encouraging as even if it would come to pass that this is not the Nexus tablet it would still hopefully deliver a powerful tablet in a compelling form factor and at a price significantly lower than most of the competition. Another possibility is that there could be two versions of the device with slightly differing specs for the Nexus 7 versus the ASUS MeMO 370T.

While FCC approval hardly provides a definitive timeline for a device to release it does typically come weeks and not months prior to launch so if this thing is going to make an appearance at Google I/O next month (perhaps in the hands of all attendees) and then become widely available in July, this timing would make perfect sense.

Google’s $199 “Nexus tablet“, that we first reported on back in March, appeared online this week in Rightware’s Basemark ES 2.0 Taiji benchmark test. Most of the details revealed in the benchmark match up with what was previous reported. The device will be made by ASUS, feature a 7-inch display with 1280×768 resolution, and use NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

What’s new in this benchmark result is the Android version 4.1. Rightware tells us this is the only device they have ever seen to include Android 4.1. The device also featured a software build number JRN51B, which is important because J represents Jelly Bean.

The device also has the model name listed as “Nexus 7″, which could be the final product name.

Some of us had speculated that Jelly Bean would be a major release and become Android 5.0, but this new evidence suggest it will be more of a minor update and be labeled Android 4.1. We reached out to a second source who claims to have seen the Nexus tablet, and they also said it was running Android 4.1.

Details are still limited, but we are told that Android 4.1 will feature a user experience very similar to Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The device will feature multiple home screens that are dedicated to different types of content (music, movies, books, etc).

We are just a month away from Google IO, when this “Nexus tablet” is expected to be revealed, so look for more details to leak over the coming weeks.

The latest rumor circling the fabled 7-inch Nexus tablet claims that ASUS will soon be ramping up production of the tablet and will ship roughly 600,000 units of the device in June in time for a July release. According to the report, the Nexus tablet is expected to sell between two and two and a half million units between July and the end of the year.

Originally, the Google Nexus tablet was expected to launch in May, but the tablet launch was postponed to make changes to the design and find way to reduce hardware costs even further.

While there have been plenty of Nexus tablet leaks over the past months, Google has never officially acknowledged that they are working with ASUS on developing a tablet. Our assumption is that Google will keep things under wraps as best they can before officially unveiling the device during Google I/O in late June.

Originally, the Nexus tablet was rumored to be based off of the $249 ASUS MeMo 370T which was shown off at CES, but more recent reports indicate that Google may want to reduce the price even further by not including a quad-core processor, though we now expect that the Nexus tablet will likely ship with NVIDIA’s quad-core Kai platform.

We may not know exactly what Google has planned for its budget friendly Nexus tablet, but we’re sure that it will force Samsung, Sony, Asus, Acer, Motorla and other OEMs to produce basic tablets which will directly compete with the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.

How many of you already own an Android powered tablet? How much would you be willing to pay for a decently spec’d 7-inch Nexus tablet?

“At $199, you can just about buy a tablet at a 7-Eleven,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, when he was discussing the future of tablets powered by his company’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor. We have been discussing rumors of a $199 “Nexus tablet” for months and now it appears that could become a reality soon.

At NVIDIA’s annual meeting of stockholders the company revealed their new Kai platform, which will enable quad-core tablets running Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich to be developed and brought out to market at the $199 price point.

ASUS previously announced their $249 MeMo 370T tablet at CES, which included a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, but that device never came to market. Rumors suggested that Google was collaborating with ASUS to lower the price to $199 and sell it in their Play Store, but we are still waiting on official confirmation.

Now that the Wall St. Journal is reporting that up to five OEM partners will sell devices through the new Google Play Store, it looks likely we will see the ASUS 7-inch tablet finally go on sale. We don’t know exactly when it will hit stores, but Google’s annual developer conference is scheduled to begin on June 27th and that is when most are expecting some kind of announcement.

Some of the details and specs could change, but it’s highly likely we will be able to purchase a $199 tablet with Android 4.x and a quad-core processor in the coming months. I tend to gravitate towards the larger 10-inch tablets, but this 7-inch, $199 tablet should be the best deal available when it arrives.

Anyone still saving up for this?

The ASUS MeMo 370T that never went on sale looks similar to NVIDIA's Kai platform.

Welcome to another new weekly column where we round up all the Android-related rumors and discuss the validity of each one. Everyone seems to love our original rumor reports, but we thought it would be fun to examine the rumors from around the web and share our thoughts on the possibility of them coming true. Read on for this week’s latest Android rumors.

Is this the rumored Nexus tablet?

Rumor: Evan Blass of PocketNow received a leaked picture of an unknown Android device, which he suggest could be the rumored “Nexus tablet.”

Our thoughts: We have been reporting on the rumored Nexus tablet for the last couple months, and now the Wall St. Journal is sharing new details of how Google plans to sell it.

Our first rumor report suggested that the device would be similar to the ASUS MeMo 370T, but then other sources said that device had been abandoned in favor of a cheaper design. The MeMo 370T was supposed to retail for $249, but NVIDIA has already said that Tegra 3 tablets will approach $199 soon, and we said that the final price could drop to $149.

The Wall St. Journal said Google was considering subsidizing the cost of the device to better compete with Amazon and their $199 Kindle Fire, so the final price could hit that magical $149 (or lower) price point where you see these devices sold at 7-Eleven stores.

Looking at the device pictured above, we can see it appears to be your average 7-inch tablet. There are ports for micro USB, micro HDMI, SD card, and headphone jack. At the bottom of the device on the left side there appears to be a SIM card slot, but most people expect this device to be WiFi only.

The docking and charging port is on the side of the device, along with two holes that would suggest a keyboard dock. ASUS is best know for their Transformer devices that feature optional keyboards, so it’s possible that Google wanted to integrate that feature.

Since price is the main selling point with this device, we don’t expect the design to be that exciting. This leaked photo still features the Android Market so it’s likely a couple months old, but we think there is a chance it could still be real.

Update: Evan Blass tells us we can knock down our probability percentage to near zero, as he believes the device pictured is an existing Toshiba 7.7 inch tablet.

Probability: 0%

The Galaxy S III will launch later than expected, in Q3

The wait is on.

Rumor: Digitimes reports, “Sources in the supply chain said Samsung is likely to launch a 4.6 inch Galaxy S3 that has an increased pixel size of 319pp in the second or third quarter of 2012, and will use the Super AMOLED HD Plus panel.”

Our thoughts: Samsung has previously said, “The successor to the Galaxy S2 smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product.” Most people are expecting some kind of announcement in May or June, that is closer to availability, but there could still be a month or two lag before it hits retail stores, given the usual carrier delays.

Previous rumors have already suggested the display size would be somewhere between 4.6-4.8 inches and use a new HD Super AMOLED Plus display, and that still looks likely.

Samsung is focused on beating Apple’s next iPhone, so we don’t see them trying to push up the launch for no good reason. It sounds more likely that they would favor waiting until they had the best possible combination of hardware and software to create a totally new experience.

Don’t be surprised if the Galaxy S III launches in the second half of 2012.

Probability: 65%

Galaxy Nexus comes to Sprint on April 22nd

Rumor: Dante D’Orazio of The Verge reports that the Galaxy Nexus will come to Sprint on April 15th.

Our thoughts: Rumors from a couple of weeks ago suggested a release date of April 15th, but it’s no surprise to hear that a phone launch got pushed back by a week. Kellen of AndroidLife also reported that Sprint had begun training their employees on the Galaxy Nexus this week, so it’s looking more likely that the official launch date could be announced at any time.

Probability: 85%

Tegra 4 to feature a 64 core GPU

Rumor: Theo Valich of VR-Zone reports that NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 could feature 4-5x Cortex-A15 CPU cores, and 32-64 Kepler CUDA cores.

Our thoughts: The last time we saw the official Tegra roadmap, NVIDIA told us Kal-El (Tegra 3) would be followed by Wayne, Logan, and Stark. No official announcements have been made surrounding Wayne, but NVIDIA has already hinted they would use Cortex-A15 when they announced their custom CPU core called Project Denver.

A more recent leaked roadmap also reveals a new mobile processor called Grey, that would feature a similar design to Wayne, with the addition of NVIDIA’s Icera modem.

We still expect to see Wayne arrive in 2012 and feature multiple Cortex-A15 CPU cores, but the GPU design has been a mystery. NVIDIA also hinted that their new Kepler architecture, found in desktop computer graphics cards, would make its way down to smartphones.

NVIDIA likes to surprise their competitors and rumors of a 64 GPU cores go back to last year, so it’s highly likely we will see something much more advanced than the 12-core GPU found in Tegra 3.

Probability: 65%

Sprint will announce the HTC EVO One tomorrow

Rumor: Multiple sites report Sprint and HTC will announce the EVO One tomorrow.

Our thoughts: The leaks keep increasing as we approach Sprint’s press event scheduled for April 4th in New York. The HTC One X was first rumored to come to Sprint, followed by news of an early June release, and last week we heard the device would hit stores with the name EVO One.

Sprint is announcing a new HTC smartphone tomorrow, and we feel pretty comfortable with saying it will keep the EVO brand alive.

Probability: 95%

Got any juicy rumors?

Find any hot Android-related rumors that we failed to cover? Just contact Taylor or leave a comment below and we will evaluate them next week.

Time and time again, Android’s demise is spelled out by bloggers all across the globe. Whether it’s because of a lack of revenue generated by Android itself, fragmentation, a new iPhone or a patent lawsuit, someone, somewhere is always predicting Android is on the way out. Well if you haven’t noticed, that’s far from reality. Android is doing just fine. But it may not always be the super behemoth we’ve come to know in the past two years.

The mobile technology industry could see some major changes as 2012 plays out, all of them affecting Android in one way or another.

Nokia Lumia, and what it means for Windows Phone

With the Nokia Lumia 900 available for free to new AT&T customers, with a two-year contract, set for release on April 8th, Microsoft may just finally see a substantial gain in smartphone marketshare.

Until the Lumia 900, one of the most obvious things holding Windows Phone back was the devices the OS was being slapped on. They were essentially all older Android phones. There hadn’t been a single Windows Phone device that didn’t have a better Android equivalent. And then came the Lumia 900.

The Lumia 900 has everything needed to become a blockbuster hit. The internals are good enough to last the average smartphone user a couple years, the display is top notch, it has 4G LTE and it looks absolutely fantastic.

It’s totally unique in design. The Lumia screams for attention. It’s how a smartphone should look in 2012. Bright, bold, masterfully crafted. Windows Phone fits the Lumia 900 like a glove. And it’s available to new AT&T customers for free on contract. If you’re upgrading to the Lumia 900, it’s still only $99.

Nokia is going to bet the farm on the Lumia 900. AT&T will be pushing the Lumia, Microsoft will be pushing the Lumia and Nokia will likely drop everything they have into ads and marketing campaigns for the Lumia 900.

When the Lumia 900 launches on April 8th, and you can find it sitting among the Galaxy Note and iPhone 4S, for less than half the cost of either of those devices, consumers will finally struggle to pick between three operating systems. Not just two. And someone will lose marketshare to it. The question then becomes, who?

The iPhone is still on the rise, and that’s just the 4S

No matter how the readers of this site view Apple’s iPhone, there is absolutely no denying it is the most popular phone in the entire world. The 4S has shattered previous sales records held by earlier models of the iPhone, and Apple is far from done.

According to some recent reports available online, the iPhone is outselling all other smartphones combined on both Sprint and AT&T, and is neck-and-neck with all Android phones combined at Verizon. It’s been this way since October of 2011. That’s half a year of iPhone domination, with no end in sight. And its design dates back to nearly two years ago.

Apple is set to release the iPhone 5 this year, sometime between June and October. Not much is known about the iPhone 5, but rumors indicate that it might see some sort of radical redesign and feature access to the three largest carrier’s LTE networks in the US. Whatever it ends up looking like, and whether it’s LTE enabled or not, it’s still going to be an iPhone. And realistically, that’s all it needs to keep selling well. Although a new design and LTE access will definitely help.

With AT&T, Verizon and Sprint all selling the iPhone 5, there’s reason to believe Apple will take back some of the market share it once lost to Android. Android certainly won’t just shrivel up and die, but one way or another there’s going to be a shift in the numbers.

RIM for sale?

If Microsoft and Apple spend all of 2012 gobbling up market share in the US, will Android simply see a sharp decline? I believe there will be a decline, but it will be closer to a leveling out than a sharp decline. There’s still plenty of ways for Android to build and maintain market share, like feature phone users turned smart phone users, and the business sector who previously relied on BlackBerry devices. Recent studies do show the adoption rate of iOS devices in corporate America skyrocketing, but Android could easily jump to the head of pack with one simple move: buying RIM.

There’s no way RIM is going to survive the next two years at the absolute most. RIM is hemorrhaging money and losing market share on a daily basis. The next big thing from the company isn’t due out until the tail end of 2012. And by then, we’ll see the next iPhone, next generation Windows Phones and a new breed of Android phones as well. So what is the company going to do? If they’re smart, they’ll sell now while they might still be worth something.

RIM still owns some good software. They’ve talked about licensing it in the past, but it may be time to just get rid of it. I doubt Apple would be interested, and Microsoft has their own enterprise solutions. Google’s the only one I could see being really interested.

Imagine a line of Android devices built around everything Google would acquire from buying RIM. Imagine being able to merge your BlackBerry Messenger account with Google Talk. Or Google Talk with all the best parts of BlackBerry Messenger thrown in.

It could work. Giving Google not only access to the most well known tools in business, but access to some great consumer software as well. Whatever RIM ultimately decides to do, it will undoubtedly impact every industry the company has touched on. I can’t help but wonder just how involved Google will be.

Between Amazon and Google, something’s got to give

The Android tablet market is sad to say the least. From where things are sitting right now, it looks like Apple has turned the tablet industry into another iPod scenario. But there’s still hope yet. Amazon proved they can move some hardware with the Kindle Fire, and Google is looking to get into the tablet game themselves. Could this spell success for Android tablets in 2012?

iPad sales didn’t exactly suffer in 2011. In fact, they were quite the opposite. That doesn’t mean other tablets didn’t do well either. The Kindle Fire was a huge success. Amazon sold a boat load of Fires during the holiday season, and they certainly aren’t done yet.

2012 will see the introduction of Amazon’s newest tablets. A larger Kindle Fire that’s priced accordingly could make a killing in 2012. The 7-inch Kindle Fire sold well for just $200, but a $300, or even $250, 10-inch Fire could possibly sell even better. If there are two things consumers care about when purchasing things like electronics, it’s the name and price. Amazon has both going for them. Look for another big year for Amazon in 2012.

Google isn’t done trying to make their mark on the tablet market either. During CES, we saw the unveiling of a Tegra 3 powered 7-inch tablet from ASUS that was marked as coming to retail at about $250. There’s good reason to believe that very tablet will end up coming to market at around $150(!), with Google Nexus branding.

Between a new Kindle Fire, Google’s tablet, Motorola and Samsung’s continued tablet efforts, Android just might see a considerable gain in tablet market share this year.

Galaxy S III, Razr 2, G4X, EVO One

Android has plenty of momentum pushing the platform forward. Google is constantly working to improve the software side of Android, and manufacturers are always working on new hardware.

We already know the Samsung Galaxy S III is almost upon us, but what other kinds of Android devices can we expect in 2012? The Motorola RAZR, T-Mobile G2x and HTC EVO will all see follow up devices. And they’ll probably all be some of the most popular Android devices launched in 2012 too.

There’s also another Nexus coming in 2012, a million Galaxy S III variants and some more DROIDs in the works at the very least. There’s still another trade show to get through before summer is underway, which always ends up revealing some of the hottest Android handsets of the year, and we can’t even begin to predict all the Android handsets that will leak from now until Q3 2012.

There’s going to be a lot of awesome Android phones coming out this year, and as usual, they’re guaranteed to be on the bleeding edge of technology.

Wrap up

Of course, I’m no psychic. For all I know Android could totally bomb, or see another huge gain in market share and leave the competition in ashes. But I don’t think either of those will happen.

I really don’t think 2012 is going to play out like 2011 did for Android. Android exploded in 2011. For the most part, it totally dominated the competition. 2012 is going to be the year where things start to level out. Windows Phone gains in popularity, iOS takes a little bit of its pie back and Android comfortably settles in as one of the top operating systems in the world.

What do you think will happen to Android in 2012? What kinds of major industry events will shape the future of Google’s mobile operating system? I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments.

Image via LadyDragonflyCC – BDay Weekend, Holland, Michigan with Creative Commons

We already reported the “Nexus tablet” was a done deal and now Amir Efrati of The Wall St. Journal is reporting that Google will sell Android tablets directly to consumers, through their own online store.

Google attempted to sell the HTC Nexus One phone to consumers back in 2010 (I bought one), but that didn’t go so well as the top 3 carriers rejected it and Google was forced to shut the store down later that year.

When the store closed, Andy Rubin said, “The global adoption of the Android platform has exceeded our expectations, the web store has not. It’s remained a niche channel for early adopters.”

The move to the new Google Play Store brand should help Google reach a wider audience as more people are forced onto the service. Millions of dollars are being spent to add audiobooks, magazines, and newspapers. Other additions to Google Play could include a unified gaming platform.

Android chief Andy Rubin recently said, “2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we’re winning in that [tablet] space,” so this move fits in with the strategy of heating up lukewarm sales.

Most of what is being reported today has already been discussed at length. Google has partnered with ASUS to release a 7-inch Android tablet around a price point $199. Digitimes has also echoed this rumor several times. Surprisingly, Samsung is also mentioned as a partner for Google’s online device store.

Samsung currently produces the Galaxy Nexus for Google, so we could see the unlocked HSPA+ version finally go on sale to US customers. The price of the unlocked Galaxy Nexus has already dropped to $489 on Amazon, so hopefully Google can match or beat that price.

The usual “people familiar with the matter” also claim that the next release of Android, codenamed Jelly Bean, will become available “in the middle of this year.” Google should unveil the first details of Jelly Bean at their sold-out Google IO conference in June.

Developing…

“We took out $150 in build materials, things like expensive memory,” he said. “At $199, you can just about buy a tablet at a 7-Eleven.”

The above quote comes from Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, in an interview with Quentin Hardy of the New York Times. We don’t know what product they were talking about, but the discussion surrounded a quad-core Tegra 3 powered tablet selling for $199 this summer.

Key NVIDIA partner ASUS already announced  $249 MeMo 370T tablet with Tegra 3 at CES, but we have heard nothing about the device since then.

For awhile, the popular rumor was that Google had struck a deal with ASUS to lower the retail price of this 7-inch Tegra 3 tablet by $50 and turn it into a “Nexus tablet.” Based on everything we know, including the recent comments from Jen-Hsun, that sounded like a viable plan.

But then we were told the rumored $199 Tegra 3 product was canned in favor of a $149 Non-Tegra 3 version.

At this point everything surrounding a “Nexus tablet” is still rumor and speculation, but NVIDIA’s CEO seems pretty confident that their partners can deliver an amazing Tegra 3 product at the magical $199 price point.

Considering the recent Nexus debacle, maybe this $199 Tegra 3 tablet would be better off on its own with ASUS providing the software updates.

Welcome to another new weekly column where we round up all the Android-related rumors and discuss the validity of each one. Everyone seems to love our original rumor reports, but we thought it would be fun to examine the rumors from around the web and share our thoughts on the possibility of them coming true. Read on for this week’s latest Android rumors.

Google Drive finally coming this April

Leaked Google Drive logo.

Rumor: Om Malik of GigaOm reports that Google Drive will launch sometime during the first week of April.

Our thoughts: Rumors of Google’s cloud storage service go all the way back to 2006, but we know the service is currently in testing because the first screen shots were leaked in February. Om has been in the business for a long time and we trust his sources, but it’s always hard to pin down an exact release date for Google products. We think a Google Drive launch is pending, so an April release sounds likely.

Probability: 80%

Jelly Bean to launch in Q3

Rumor: Taiwan newspaper Digitimes reports “Google may release its new platform, Android 5.0 (Jelly Bean), in the third quarter of 2012.“

Our thoughts: Based out of Taipei, Digitimes often has access to information from supply chain sources that are based in Taiwan. We are fairly confident that the next version of Android is codenamed Jelly Bean (as first reported way back in 2010), but we don’t know what version number Google will assign to it or when it will launch.

The popular belief is that Google will unveil the first details about Jelly Bean during their Google IO conference on June 27-29th. Google always talks about the future of Android during this show, so that’s pretty much a given.

Right now we believe there are two options. First, Google could announce that Jelly Bean is a minor update, call it Android 4.1 or 4.5, and immediately release it for their Nexus line of phones and tablets. Second, we could learn that Jelly Bean will be a major update, be called Android 5.0, and be released in Q4 on the next flagship device.

Google has a pattern of releasing one major update to Android every year, so we still expect Android 5.0 sometime in Q4, but there is no way to know if that is Jelly Bean, or the next version codenamed Key Lime Pie.

Probability: 50%

“Nexus tablet” to be given away at Google IO

Rumor: We speculate that Google will give away the ASUS “Nexus tablet” to every attendee of Google IO.

Our thoughts: Every year Google gives away a free Android device to all the attendees at their Google IO developer conference. Three years ago it was the Google Ion (HTC Magic), two years ago it was the HTC EVO 4G, and last year it was the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Samsung Chromebook.

This year we believe they will give away the rumored 7-inch “Nexus tablet.” Android chief Andy Rubin recently said, “2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we’re winning in that [tablet] space… we’re going to do a better job at making people understand what ecosystem they’re buying into.”

Combined with the new Google Play Store, this Google tablet fits into the “double down” tablet strategy and it will further evolve the tablet ecosystem with a focus on more optimized apps.

Another possible giveaway device could be the rumored Android Hub (or maybe it’s called Play Hub now?). Google just filed a new trademark application for Showy, which is described as “Downloadable software which allows users to use their computer, tablet device, or mobile phone as a remote control to operate video display devices and televisions; and downloadable software which allows users to remotely control the content on internet-connected digital signage.”

It sure sounds like the 7-inch tablet and home entertainment system will be tightly integrated, so maybe both will be given away.

Probability: 75%

Samsung Galaxy S III to be launched this weekend

Rumor: Multiple sites report that Samsung could unveil the Samsung Galaxy S III on March 30th after Eurodroid spotted a Samsung teaser in the window of retailer Phones 4U.

Our thoughts: Another week, another rumored unveiling for the Galaxy S III. Last time it was a Samsung event in Africa that turned into a TV announcement and now this.

Stuart Miles of Pocket-Lint already debunked this rumor. It turns out Phones 4U is opening up a Samsung store-within-a-store on March 30th.

Probability: 0%

T-Mobile to raise prices next week

Rumor: David Beren of TmoNews reports that T-Mobile will raise prices on Classic Unlimited 5GB and 10GB data features beginning April 4th

Our thoughts: We only call this a rumor because it’s not officially confirmed by T-Mobile, but we believe this to be true. As David points out, this is an “obvious move to drive customers into the hands of waiting Value Plan opportunities.” T-Mobile’s Value Plans save their subscribers money because the cost of the subsidized phone is not part of the monthly service fee. Customers have to pay the full price of the phone up front, or over the course of 20 months, but they save money over the life of the contract.

Probability: 99%

Got any juicy rumors?

Find any hot Android-related rumors that we failed to cover? Just contact Taylor or leave a comment below and we will evaluate them next week.

Earlier this month we revealed that Google had chosen ASUS to produce their upcoming “Nexus tablet.” This report was later echoed by Digitimes, who said the 7-inch tablet could arrive as early as May. This has been the hottest Android rumor of the month so we have continued to ask around and dig up more details. We just received some new information, so read on for the full report.

The Rumor

The ASUS MeMo 370T that was revealed at CES has been scrapped after Google contracted with ASUS to produce their “Nexus tablet.” Earlier reports said the device would retail for $249-199, but we are now told the target price is $149-199. The quad-core Tegra 3 version that was previously leaked is no more. Other than the 7-inch display, no additional information has been provided on the specs.

The Source

This latest rumor comes from a senior employee at a supply chain company based in the United States. They wish to remain anonymous.

One Android Insider’s take on the rumor

“It’s a done deal,” said the supply chain source. We have already heard countless rumors that Google was working on “a tablet of the highest quality,” and this latest report give us further confidence it’s going to happen.

What’s most surprising about the latest rumor is to hear that the target price has been lowered to $149 and that the quad-core Tegra 3 processor is out. I’m going to assume these two bits are related.

It sounds like Google wanted to undercut the Kindle Fire, so they lowered the bill of materials by going with a processor that was cheaper than Tegra 3. We heard similar stories last year that Amazon had originally chosen Tegra 2 to power the Kindle Fire, but they went with Texas Instruments’ OMAP4 at the last moment because they got a better volume deal.

ASUS has a strong relationship with Qualcomm, so we might see a Snapdragon processor end up inside this “Nexus tablet.”

We also found it noteworthy that our source called this device the “Nexus tablet.” The final product name has not been revealed, and we were curious if the Nexus branding was going to be used. I originally thought that this device might be called Google Play, but it turned out that was the name for Google’s new online content store. I’ll still go out on a limb and predict this tablet might be called Nexus Play.

Many of our readers were excited about the ASUS MeMo 370T tablet as it stood, and I’m sure most will be upset to hear that it could be canned. Hopefully our source is wrong about that information. It could be that the MeMo 370T was slated to become the “Nexus tablet”, but Google wanted something cheaper so ASUS scrapped it and configured a lower spec’d device.

I know a lot of people would buy a quad-core tablet at $249, so I hope ASUS still gives customers that option. However, ASUS did not show off the device at Mobile World Congress and they have been quiet about it, so who knows what’s going on with it.

Wrapping up, we still expect this device to be announced at the CTIA Wireless show which takes place in New Orleans from May 8-10. Sources say it will ship with the latest version of Ice Cream Sandwich, but if this is truly a Nexus device it might become the flagship platform for the next version of Android, codenamed Jelly Bean. More information on Jelly Bean is expected to be revealed at Google IO on June 27-29th.

Let us know what you think about this latest report in the comments below. Does the lower target price increase your chances of buying one? Will the lack of a quad-core Tegra 3 processor turn you away? Would you rather buy the $249 ASUS MeMo 370T as it was originally announced?