Could a Google Nexus tablet at $149 be a game-changer?

While Apple has been content — so far — to dominate the high end of the tablet market, Google appears to be serious about competing against the Kindle Fire at the low end. I posted about 10 days ago about a potential partnership between the search giant and Asus to create a 7-inch Android tablet. Now a new rumor has emerged that Google is ready to drop the bar on tablet pricing.
According to Android and Me, the new tablet could be priced as low as $149, which would be $50 lower than the Kindle Fire. That apparently is the result of Google abandoning the Tegra 3 processor as the guts of the tablet, looking instead for a cheaper alternative. Asus supposedly nixed its own Tegra 3-powered MeMo 370T when it contracted with Google.
Android and Me’s anonymous supply chain source says that the Nexus tablet is a “done deal” (the “Nexus” brand being the source’s own words), though other specs and a firm release date have not been revealed. The Google tablet could still wind up costing $199, but it’s clear that while Apple is focusing on improving specs while maintaining its high prices on the iPad, Google appears intent on heading to the bottom to quickly gain market share.
Would you be excited for a Google tablet that’s priced as a low as $149, even if it didn’t have the latest hardware? Let us know in the Comments section below.

zdnet.com