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Google Android Hardware Technology

Google's Officially Done Making Its Own Tablets (computerworld.com) 105

Posted by msmash from the latest-product-it-has-killed dept.
Google's decided to step away from its self-made tablets and focus instead on the laptop form. From a report: To be clear, Google hadn't actually announced any tablet-specific products this year; the last such item that made its way to the market was the Pixel Slate in 2018. But, as I learned today, the company did have two smaller-sized tablets under development -- and earlier this week, it decided to drop all work on those devices and make its roadmap revolve entirely around laptops instead. A couple of clarifying points here: First, none of this has any impact on Pixel phones. Pixel phones and Pixel computers are two different departments, and the roadmap in question is related exclusively to the latter. And second, when Google talks about a "tablet," it means a device that detaches completely from a keyboard base or doesn't even have a physical keyboard in the first place -- not a swiveling two-in-one convertible like the Pixelbook. The Pixelbook, with its attached keyboard and 360-degree hinge, falls under Google's definition of "laptop." Blurred lines, baby. A Google spokesperson directly confirmed all of these details to me.
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Google's Officially Done Making Its Own Tablets More

Google's Officially Done Making Its Own Tablets

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  • they're apparently getting back into the game [theverge.com] (so to speak).
  • What will John Prosner of Front Page News [youtube.com] report now that he is no longer Google's Pixel leak piddler?
  • Google made tablets?
  • https://tech.slashdot.org/stor... [slashdot.org]

    if i can not trust google to produce good honest search results why should i continue to trust android and chromeOS? maybe its time for some open hardware to enter the smartphone market, and then i can install any Linux distro that has support for it, and finding a laptop to run Linux has not been a problem for me. Google better get their collective shit together if they want to continue having me as a customer, because the rate google is going they are starting to look w

    • Google was founded as an alternative to the incumbent search engines that were either badly curated or being pwned by the unscrupulous and thieves. Ads and revenue were expected to come if they got it right. They did.

      Good and honest in search results is never going to be within the power of the search engine. Someone, somewhere, will take advantage of something.

  • Remember all those Google industry-defining, home-run hardware successes?

    Yeah, me neither.

    Google is a search company and a software company. Its hardware offerings are underwhelming, and Pixel doesn't even let Google crack the list of top ten mobile phone manufacturers [worldstren...opmost.com].

    In fact, it's hard to find any hardware category where Google isn't an afterthought or an also-ran, or even mildly profitable.

    In this Google is a lot like Microsoft, without the one hit of the XBox.

    Google should stick to software.

    • Google is a search company and a software company. Its hardware offerings are underwhelming, and Pixel doesn't even let Google crack the list of top ten mobile phone manufacturers.

      Google doesn't make any of those devices, anyway. They only design them, when they even bother to do that. All of the manufacturing and assembly is done on contract.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Kjella ( 173770 )

        Google doesn't make any of those devices, anyway. They only design them, when they even bother to do that. All of the manufacturing and assembly is done on contract.

        Like Apple's chips are manufactured by TSMC and the iPhones assembled by Foxconn? Designing it is usually what defines it as "theirs".

      • You're missing the point, google sucks at doing that.

        other companies do well

    • I hate windoze, and even I have to admit Microsoft makes good keyboards.

    • Remember all those Google industry-defining, home-run hardware successes?

      Yeah, me neither.

      Google is a search company and a software company. Its hardware offerings are underwhelming, and Pixel doesn't even let Google crack the list of top ten mobile phone manufacturers [worldstren...opmost.com].

      In fact, it's hard to find any hardware category where Google isn't an afterthought or an also-ran, or even mildly profitable.

      In this Google is a lot like Microsoft, without the one hit of the XBox.

      Google should stick to software.

      Actually, it took Microsoft a while before the Xbox was in the black. On the Lumias too, Microsoft should have left that w/ Nokia: acquiring that was a disaster, and only hastened the demise of the Windows Phone. Although Windows 10 Mobile was actually pretty good, as was the Lumia 550. But w/ the number of times Microsoft took to get it right, it never caught on, and ultimately was not enough to threaten either iOS nor Android

  • Google gave me the downlow y'all!
  • Translation: The public is officially done buying Google tablets, and Google has finally figured it out.

  • Dammit!

    I had a Nexus 7 2013 wifi and used it every day until the battery finally crapped out a few months ago. Despite the hardware issues it had (A chronically loose connector that broke orientation and adaptive backlight) and the non-expandable memory, I loved it, and because it was popular, I could find a decent case to put it in. It went everywhere with me and did everything I needed (And would fit on storage).

    Now I'm stuck with Samsung's bullshit ROMs (With stupid long boot times, random crashes, and f

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Octorian ( 14086 )

      I have a Google Pixel C, which is probably the last Android tablet that they made. When it was new, it was probably the fastest Android device I owned. Over time, with a few updates, its gotten a bit slower (despite generally light use). However, it still works perfectly fine for my needs.
      When I finally find myself needing to replace it, I really don't know what to replace it with. I really want "unmolested" Android on top-end hardware, but that doesn't seem to be an option in the tablet space anymore. I ma

    • Now I'm stuck with Samsung's bullshit ROMs (With stupid long boot times, random crashes, and forced bloatware), or cheap Chinese pump-and-dump tablets.

      Almost hate to ask but.... if you like tablets, there's this thing called the iPad, maybe you've heard of it?

      It has most of the Google services you might have been used to...

      • Almost hate to ask but.... if you like tablets, there's this thing called the iPad, maybe you've heard of it?

        It has most of the Google services you might have been used to...

        Given that I hate the lock-in on Samsung ROMs, and that this is an article about Android, what in Slashdot's name makes you think I'd like an iPad?

        • what in Slashdot's name makes you think I'd like an iPad?
          (earlier).... I loved it, and because it was popular, I could find a decent case to put it in. It went everywhere with me and did everything I needed (And would fit on storage).

          What about the lock-in bothers or even limits you? It seemed like all of those things you loved are still more than possible with an iPad. You can find great cases. You can go anywhere with it, super easy to travel with....

          I guess I just thought this being Slashdot, you care

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by kwalker ( 1383 )

            What about the lock-in bothers or even limits you? It seemed like all of those things you loved are still more than possible with an iPad. You can find great cases. You can go anywhere with it, super easy to travel with....

            I guess I just thought this being Slashdot, you cared more about utility and useful hardware. And there's always Jailbreaking, though over time the use of that has become much less.

            Oh let's see, how about being able to pick my own software for my own needs (My own browser and e-mail, my own applications, side-loading) and getting rid of the unnecessary crap that Uncle Know-it-all burned into the phone? How about integrating with the rest of my non-Apple systems? Yes I'll grant you that cases for iPads are easier to find, but that's secondary to having good hardware that good software exposes for use. Any tablet is easy to travel with, if you have the right peripherals and adapters (Wh

  • I was kind of hoping that Apple's iPadOS announcement would produce a jolt that forced Google to review Android's tablet strategy. I hope this was not it.

  • I thought they gave up on tablets long ago. Well, there is exactly one reason why tablets don't sell well: crippled user interface. That is 100% on Google. You stupid Googlers can suck my shorts for that reason alone, if not for endless others.

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