Google to announce tablet at CES?

While the rumour mill might still be busy with the possibility of Apple making the long-awaited iTablet a reality at the end of the month, others are looking to a new source for tablety goodness: Google, with a little help from HTC.

As reported over on The Next Web, a planned announcement from Google on the 5th of this month could hold a little surprise - and one which one-ups Apple at that.

While it's thought that Google's announcement will simply be to confirm the Nexus One 'Googlephone', which is the first handset to feature Android 2.1 alongside a nifty Snapdragon 1GHz ARM-based processor, industry pundits believe that its real purpose will be to beat Apple to the punch with a tablet PC of Google's very own.

While the rumours have yet to be confirmed, it's a possibility that holds water: Google has already worked with HTC on Android-based smartphones, and the hardware company certainly has the expertise to create a tablet-based system. Further, Google's work on the Chrome OS suggests that such a device would be more than just a scaled-up Android-based smartphone.

Sadly, with no official comment - from either company - there's no way to predict whether the announcement due in the next few days will be exactly what those hoping for a usable 'net tablet have been waiting for.

Would you be interested in a cloud-connected Internet tablet from Google and HTC, or are you still holding out for Apple's announcement at the end of the month? Do you struggle to see the point of a bulky tablet device in a world where pocket-sized smartphones and ultra-slim notebooks rule? Share your thoughts over in the forums.