Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire have an edge over Android tablets, in that they can undersell their physical hardware and make up the losses by providing users with all their content (music, ebooks, apps, video etc.). Seems Google has cottoned on to this strategy, with rumblings in the bowels of the interweb suggesting that the Big G might be about to announce its own dedicated music store to compete with Apple and Amazon.
According to the Wall Street Journal, all four of the big music publishers have been in talks with Google, with EMI reportedly the closest to reaching a deal for the new music store. The other three publishers – Warner, Sony and Universal – are still in talks with Google, although reportedly not close to any agreement.
With the launch of Google Books last week on Android devices, Google are apparently trying to pull off the same trick as Apple and Amazon in becoming a one-stop shop for all of a tablet user’s needs. If it works, could we see price cuts in tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Motorola Xoom? With Apple’s iPad 2 already cheaper than leading Android tablets and Amazon’s $200 Kindle Fire on the horizon, something’s got to give.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Image: L-plate big cheese
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