Is Google's Tablet a $200 iPad-Killer?

Numerous reports from ZDNet, Bloomberg and other publications suggest that Google GOOG is preparing a $199 tablet with Asus, which will be unveiled today at 9:00 a.m. PDT. But can it compete with Apple AAPL, the dominant leader in tablet manufacturing? Google's tablet will reportedly feature a seven-inch screen, a quad-core processor from NVIDIA NVDA, and 1GB of memory. According to Gizmodo Australia, the tablet will launch with Android Jelly Bean and contain a display resolution of 1280×800. That same report claims that the tablet will come in two varieties (allowing consumers to obtain 8GB or 16GB of memory) and feature a 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera. These rumored specs may not live up to the promise of a Google tablet that will be of the highest quality. But this is just the beginning for Google, a company that pays beautiful women to wear silly glasses, and is constantly searching for new ways to make money. While a cheap, seven-inch Google tablet might seem like an appealing alternative to Amazon's AMZN Kindle Fire, it may not be enough to stop consumers from buying an iPad. But there are bigger fish to fry now that Microsoft MSFT has entered the fray with its own tablet, Surface. Thus far, the Windows maker has been very tight-lipped about the tablet's capabilities, focusing on its unique keyboard covers instead of software content. Microsoft is expected to be a big player in the tablet industry, specifically with business users who want full access to Word, PowerPoint, and other Office programs. However, a recent DigiTimes report suggested that Surface will cost more than $599. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry anticipates an MSRP as high as $800. At that price, consumers could purchase four Google tablets. Regardless, Amazon and Microsoft are likely to be Google's biggest competitors. Apple has already solidified its position as the market leader. At the same time, the Kindle Fire has garnered more than 50% of all Android tablet sales in the United States. Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ