Now a Google tablet

The Apple iPad

rumored to be in production to

challenge the Kindle Fire may actually

be a Google tablet.

That's according to DigiTimes, which

reported today that sources in Google's

upstream supply chain believe the tablet

could be positioned to challenge

Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire. The

sources expect the Android tablet to

arrive in the spring at a price below

$299 to compete with Amazon.

The report comes a few weeks after

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt allegedly

told the Italian newspaper Corriere

della Sera that the company plans to

"market a tablet of the highest quality"

in the next six months. It's possible that

the newspaper misunderstood or

misquoted Schmidt, but Google has

refused to clarify his comments.

However, this rumor should be taken

with a grain of salt as the Taiwan news

site already has a shaky reputation for

accuracy; sources have told it three

different tablet suspicions in as many

weeks.

The tech blog reported in mid December

that Apple would "likely" launch a 7.85-

inch tablet in the fourth quarter of 2012

to compete with Amazon's Android-

based tablet. The site then reported last

week that Apple would unveil two 9.7-

inch versions later this month at the

Macworld|iWorld conference--a report

that was largely rebuffed by the many

tech observers.

Rudz