Google: 'We're very excited about tablets'

Google CEO: 'We're very excited about tablets'
Google is looking to push a new wave of budget tablets

Google is set to invest further in low-cost Android tablets in the near future, as it predicts the budget market will continue to boom.

The news comes from Google CEO, Larry Page in his quarterly earnings call where he reported revenues for the search giant were up 24 percent year on year, coming in at £6.6 billion ($10.6 billion).

In the call Page revealed "we're very excited about tablets" and suggested that Google is looking at budget tablets, running a stripped down version of Android – something Page thinks will be successful in the near future.

So expect a Kindle Fire rival from the search giants pretty soon.

Stripped down Android tablets incoming?

We've heard a number of rumours that Google is working on its own Google Nexus tablet and Page's words seem to confirm that the firm does have its own tablet goals.

There's the suggestion that Google has a 7-inch tablet in the works, so could this device run a stripped down version of Android? We'll have to wait and see.

Page went on to say: "I think you're going to have a pretty unified experience [over the next few years], and a great experience from a user point of view, and you won't have to manage all these devices [separately]."

Here he is hinting at plans to roll the Android platform out to a wide range of devices – Apple-esque you might say.

Google's social network, Google+, is set to feature in this unified user experience and Page reported that the service now has 170 million users on its books.

This is still way behind the likes of Twitter (around 500 million) and Facebook (over 800 million), but as Google looks to push mobile and tablet devices be prepared to see this figure soar.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.