Google to launch iPad and Kindle Fire rival tablet in spring Last month, the chairman of the search engine giant, Eric Schmidt, revealed the company would be launching an own-brand Android tablet in the next six months. Mr Schmidt said it would be "of the highest quality" with industry watchers confident it would challenge Apple's iPad while using its Nexus smartphone strategy that rivalled the iPhone. But according to Digitimes, the new gadget would include a seven-inch panel - the same size as Amazon's Kindle Fire - and would cost less than $200 to compete with the online retailer. Despite Google Taiwan claiming not to have heard of the plans, Digitimes' sources predicted the tablet would be unveiled in March or April. "Sources from Google's upstream supply chain believe that Google, instead of Apple, may actually be targeting Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire as its major competitor," reported Digitimes. However, Google Taiwan commented that the company has never heard about the plan of launching an own-brand tablet PC. The sources believe that Google will launch the own-brand tablet PC in March-April, featuring a 7-inch panel and Android 4.0 with a price less than US$199 to compete against Amazon.