Apple vs. Google War Puts iPad At Risk

Google’s older ‘Don’t be evil’ mantra still generates hysterical laughter over at Apple headquarters, but the rivalry will become even more intense now tech firm Marvell has demonstrated its very own tablet eReader, an iPad competitor that’s powered by Google’s Android OS.

The 10-inch prototype was shown at the Future of Publishing Summit in New York City, a conference on the digital transformation of books, magazines, and newspapers.

Now, looking at the image you sure can see this is system doesn’t compete with iPad in the beauty department, but it is important to note that this is a reference design. That means companies grabbing Marvell’s ideas (which the company basically put together to illustrate a new processor it is offering) are likely to create better-looking systems.

The one major problem firms hoping to poke iPad out the tablet market face is price. With the low-end iPad costing just $499, just how much space to competitors have to pitch on price?