Prospective Android tablet owners might want to hold on to their hard earned money a bit longer as another competitor looms on the horizon. According to a recent report from DigiTimes, Google has shunned Asus in favor of HTC for assistance in building an upcoming 8-inch Nexus tablet.
As the story goes, Google originally wanted to work with HTC to build the first generation Nexus 7 tablet but were turned away as HTC was busy with their own mobile marketing efforts. Things have since changed as HTC is no longer pushing self-branded tablets like it once was.
The publication also suggested that the third generation Nexus tablet could be the last from Google. The search giant has already accomplished its primary goal with the Nexus tablet line - boosting Android's penetration in the market. As such, Nexus tablets no longer are a significant influence in the market and it may be time for Google to move on.
Sources in the upstream supply chain claim the tablet is slated (no pun intended) to debut sometime during the third quarter of this year although earlier reports suggested we may see the device make an appearance at Google's annual I/O conference in June. DigiTimes didn't provide any technical specifications or a target price point, unfortunately.
Of course, given the source of the story, you'd be wise to take the news with a healthy dose of salt.