Google 7-inch tablet imminent

The Google 7-inch tablet is on the way, according to a fresh report -- the latest in a long line of reports dating back to the beginning of the year. The tablet will hit the market in July, according to a Thursday report from DigiTimes. Shipments -- about 600,000 initially -- are set to begin in June, the Taipei-based publication claimed. Asus is expected to manufacture the device. NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET previously that a 7-inch Goggle tablet was in the works, though a June shipment date means that an original projection of an April production run was apparently premature. That said, total production for 2012 of about two million units, cited in today's report, is in keeping with NPD DisplaySearch's original estimate. The tablet's details are not known but there has been speculation about Android 4.0 running on top of a quad-core chip. If Google's 7-inch tablet materializes and a rumored tablet 7.85-inch "iPad Mini" from Apple also surfaces, that would add to a growing collection of smaller tablets from first-tier suppliers. Amazon is already a major force in the 7-inch market segment and Samsung has recently begun selling its 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2.