Crank up the rumor mill as another from the very flaky Digitimes says that HTC is going to be offering a new Android tablet during the first quarter of 2011. We know that Android 3.0 – will it be Gingerbread or Honeycomb? – is going to hit some time during the holiday season, and that it’s probably going to be more tablet-friendly than 2.2 or Froyo. While HTC has been cranking out some amazing smartphone hardware, it’s not entirely beyond imagination that it might be working on an Android 3.0 tablet, too.
Digitimes is reporting:
For marketing tablet PCs, HTC will have an advantage thanks to its strong ties with Google and established cooperation with mobile telecom carriers around the world, the sources pointed out, adding that if the performance and quality of the new device is on par with its smartphones, continuous support from these strategic partners is expected.
The sources are allegedly component manufacturers, but the assumption is rather general and pretty vague. Of course HTC and Google are close partners. HTC has done nothing but crank out Android devices the last several months, except for the HD2 with WinMo 6.5, and it also built the Google-branded Nexus One. And this talk of “if” performance and quality is on par with smartphones regarding a tablet is just stupid.
Will HTC release an Android 3.0 or Gingerbread tablet next year? It’s definitely a possibility, but these weak sources and generalizations in speculation don’t offer anything remotely close to being solid. Additionally, Digitimes is saying that RIM, Nokia, Motorola and LG will soon be introducing 7-10 inch tablets that will “mostly be running Android.”
[Via: DigiTimes]