Google Shows Off Sweet Tablet Prototype

When asked about pricing, Google engineer Andy Rubin quipped that the actual cost of the Motorola prototype tablet he demoed at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference was around $10,000. Consumers will probably get it for considerably less when it hits store shelves, but with the new Android Honeycomb operating system under its hood, it will likely compete with high-end tablets like the

In a figurative googolplex of names and programs, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Motorola(NYSE: MOT) unveiled a tablet computer Monday night at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference that runs on Google's Android 3.0 operating system, aka "Honeycomb." Only the tablet remains without a name.

Conference gawkers claim the Google/Motorola Honeycomb tablet has about the same footprint as an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, though Android head Andy Rubin -- who offered the prototype peek -- provided few details.
After cleaning the tablet screen on his blue jean pant leg, Rubin demonstrated "the newest version of Google Maps," eliciting an "ooh!" from Boomtown blogger Kara Swisher at a D: Dive"fireside chat" alongside Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walter Mossberg.

Equipped with a 3D Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) processor, the tablet/mapping combo generated three-dimensional images with a slide of the finger across a screen punctuated by suggestive shadows. Though Rubin's fingers took full control of the map, his audience still couldn't "see through the windows" of buildings along the street -- "yet," he joked.
Windowpeak is an app, Swisher then quipped, "on the other Google engineer's launch."
Though the new Maps app will join Android phones "in a matter of days," Rubin said, the Honeycomb tablet will be available "sometime next year."
Significantly more advanced than the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab, based on an earlier Android version, the Honeycomb tablet offers a "no button" design that allows phone and tablet applications to run more seamlessly and with a greater diversity of presentation, Rubin explained.
Motorola did not return TechNewsWorld's requests for comment. Google representatives declined to add anything to Rubin's demonstration.