Remember when Google offered the Nexus One to consumers through an online store? The shop was eventually shut down, but a new rumor has suggested that Google may be ready to give the online sales thing another shot, this time with tablets. According to sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Google is planning to both market and sell tablets straight to consumers using an online store in an attempt to boost adoption of Android slates. It's not known when the store may open.
As for the tablets that'll be sold in this store, the tipsters claim that Google won't be making the devices itself. The company will reportedly offer tablets from the likes of Samsung and ASUS, with a source claiming that one of the tablets due to be sold in the store will be released by ASUS later this year. However, some of the devices are expected to be "co-branded with Google's name." To help increase interest in its store, one source claims that Google has considered subsidizing the cost of the products, a move that it hopes will help its slates to better compete with the $199 Kindle Fire. The WSJ's "people familiar with the matter" also believe that Google will debut Jelly Bean in the middle of this year.
Google's original online store that sold the Nexus One direct to consumers wasn't exactly a rousing success, so it's interesting to hear that it may give the idea another shot. Of course, the Nexus One online store was introduced a couple of years ago, and things have changed (and Android has grown) since then. There's also the fact that Google was originally selling smartphones before and had to deal with the carriers when it did. If Google sells Wi-Fi-only tablets in its store, it may have better luck this time around. What do you all make of these rumored Google tablet store details? Think the company will have better luck with this new online store than it did with the previous one?
