The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is planning to sell its own tablet computer, heightening its rivalry with Apple.
 
Google will not be producing the new new tablets itself, however, at least not initially. Rather, it will launch a co-branding effort with various manufacturers such as Samsung and Asus. Details of the plan remain sketchy; however, in addition to the co-branding aspect, Google’s purchase of Motorola is pending. That company would likely produce Google-branded tablets in the near future.
 
Google has previously made forays into the electronics market with its short-lived Nexus One smartphone. Though the phone was abandoned in the face of better sales from other smartphones using the same mobile OS, Google’s Android platform, Google says the phone sold well enough to break even on investment.
 
The reasons behind Google’s move are twofold. The first is a direct challenge to Apple’s dominance of the tablet market. Second, and perhaps more importantly, Google is seeking better penetration of the Android OS, which in turn increases use of Google services such as Google Maps. Android tablets produced by companies like Samsung are currently lagging far behind the iPad, and Apple just recently released the third generation of its tablet to robust initial sales. Indeed, Apple is doing so well, boosted by the success of the iPad, that it recently announced a stock dividend and buyback plan for its shareholders, the company’s first since the early ’90s.
 
Other competition comes from Amazon, which recently made a foray into the tablet world with its Kindle Fire. Interestingly enough Amazon might actually provide a model for Google to follow. The company sells the Kindle as a loss leader for its ebook distribution, heavily subsidizing Kindle e-readers and tablets for consumers. The Kindle Fire sells for $199, as opposed to the iPad 3′s hefty starting price of $499. (The cheapest Kindle retails for $79.) Google is rumored to be considering a subsidy model, which would make sense if the company’s ultimate goal is to establish Android as a player in the tablet game.
 
As part of the initiative, Google plans to open its own online store similar to those operated by Amazon and Apple. It’s unclear how quickly Google will move forward with the initiative, but however quickly it happens, it marks a bold—if risky—new direction for the tech company.