Google Wants to Destroy the iPad 3

The Android maker is getting ready for a full-scale assault on the tablet industry's leading manufacturer. And by May 2012, Google GOOG will have its own tablet on store shelves. That's the word from company exec Eric Schmidt, who said that the new device will be of the highest quality. Granted, we have heard this same claim from Motorola MMI, a company that Google is in the process of acquiring. We've heard this claim from Research in Motion RIMM, a company that appeared to have an iPad killer in its hands until the PlayBook, the atrociously forgettable BlackBerry-inspired tablet, was released. We heard this claim from HTC and Samsung, but neither company delivered a must-have device. Sony SNE had some potential for innovation with its dual-screen concept, but that failed as well. Hewlett-Packard's HPQ tablet bombed so badly that the company had to knock $400 off the retail price just to get our attention. It wasn't until Amazon AMZN released the first decent-quality $200 tablet that consumers began to envision a world in which Apple AAPL wasn't the only player in the tablet market. But in terms of quality, some critics are not happy with the Kindle Fire, leaving Apple as the only acclaimed tablet maker. In Amazon's defense, the first iPad was largely referred to by critics as a giant iPod Touch. Next fall, the Kindle Fire 2 may very well eliminate every complaint of the original Kindle Fire. But for now, Apple is clearly the king. This leaves Google in one of the most difficult positions the company will ever face. While the company overcame the search engine wars by building a better product than Yahoo! YHOO, Microsoft MSFT and other competitors, Google faces a much tougher battle in the realm of electronic devices. Android may be a cool iOS alternative (to some users, at least), but the current crop of Honeycomb tablets has left a lot to be desired. When Google announced its plans to acquire Motorola Mobility for $40 per share, most commentators expected the company to abandon Motorola's manufacturing division (either through a sell-off or a spin-off) or shift production to the areas that matter most to Google, such as cable boxes. Google would love to be in our TVs, but not even a Google TV refresh could help the company accomplish this goal. With Motorola, Google could presumably add its technology to every cable box sold. That is, assuming Comcast CMCSA, Time Warner TWC, and other cable providers did not object to the Google invasion. Some analysts and bloggers have warned that Google is not prepared for the world of manufacturing, which is both costly and challenging. But that's precisely why Google teamed up with other manufacturers to produce its line of Chromebook laptops; to leverage the power of experts in the field. By acquiring Motorola, Google could essentially do the same thing but keep the core manufacturing elements in-house with an experienced team that has been in the business for several years. Even without Motorola, Google is apparently ready to compete more seriously with Apple. But who will be in charge of manufacturing Google's first tablet? Gizmodo assumes that it will be the tablet version of the Nexus, which is manufactured by Samsung. Is that what consumers really want – a Samsung tablet? Probably not. But if the price is right, consumers might get excited anyway. Follow me @LouisBedigian