Google targets Apple and Amazon in tablet wars

Google will sell its first tablet in the US from mid-July for $199 (€160), hoping to replicate its smartphone success in a hotly contested market dominated by Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Apple’s iPad.

By taking a greater role in the tablet market, Google hopes to ensure its various online services remain front-and-centre to consumers amid a changing technology landscape in which tablets by Apple and Amazon are increasingly becoming gateways to the web and web-based content such as films and music.

Google’s maiden entry into the tablet market, which will also see the advent of Microsoft’s Surface this year, could also help accelerate development of tablet-specific apps for its Android operating software — a key factor that has helped popularise Apple’s iPad, analysts say.