Every year, some company spends a lot of money creating an Android tablet that some tech reporter foolishly brands as an “iPad killer,” despite the fact that the iPad has proven to be pretty bulletproof. But if there were two companies capable of producing a 10-inch tablet capable of at least holding its own against the iPad ,they would be Samsung (005930) and Google (GOOG), whose respective Galaxy S III and Nexus 7 devices have been two of the hottest sellers among non-Apple (AAPL) products this year. And now, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim has told CNET that the two companies are collaborating to build a 10-inch tablet that will, yes, be aimed at taking on the iPad.
So, how will this new tablet try to succeed where others have failed? Well first of all, Shim says it will have a killer 2,560 x 1,600-pixel display with a pixel density that actually tops the current-generation iPad at 299 pixels-per-inch. Second, the tablet will be co-branded by the two companies, which means both will put their considerable marketing budgets behind trying to sell it to the masses.
Shim also says that the 10-inch tablet will likely be in the $500 price range of the standard iPad model rather than the $200 price range of the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD.