Verizon And Google Team Up For iPad-Killer?

 

In a startling move, Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon, told the Wall Street Journal that the carrier is working with Google on a tablet device designed to compete with Apple’s iPad. Coming at a time when the rumor about Verizon getting the iPhone has risen once again from the dead, the comments from the CEO are somewhat surprising. Rumor has it that this is all a clever negotiating move by Verizon to get the best terms it can from Apple.

In the Wall Street Journal interview, McAdam said that the carrier was “looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a table to make it a great experience.” McAdam’s reference to Google’s “archives” was not explained. He also didn’t explain what “working on tablets together” would mean, necessarily, as Verizon makes neither hardware nor software.

The Silicon Valley Insider’s Dan Frommer believes the announcement is a hoax, saying that there’s “ZERO reason for Google and Verizon to pre-announce a tablet collaboration likely several months before anything is available for purchase.” With the possibility of “delays, other disappointments, etc.,” Frommer says there’s “only downside” to trumpeting it now, if its real. While saying that “it’s possible that talks with Apple and Verizon have completely broken down, and that Verizon is really aligning itself with Google for an all-out war.” Frommer still believes that McAdam “is just playing Google to get Steve Jobs to hand over the iPhone and iPad on favorable terms.”

Seems like Google, for its part, is acting as if they had no idea what McAdam is talking about. “Anyone can take the Android platform and add code or download it to create a mobile device without restrictions,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to seeing what contributions are made and how an open platform spurs innovation.”