Google making 3D tablet — report

SAN FRANCISCO — Google next month will start cranking out prototypes of a 3-D tablet designed to give users immersive experiences that could include virtual reality, according to US media reports.

The tablet will have a 7-inch (17.78cm) display and an array of sophisticated cameras, sensors and software, the Wall Street Journal said in a story citing unnamed sources.

Google on Friday said they had nothing to announce.
The tablet was reported to be part of a Project Tango worked on by a special team at the California-based technology firm.

The project was said to involve giving advanced mapping and virtual reality capabilities to mobile devices powered by Google’s free Android software.

Nearly 42 per cent of people in the United States used tablets at least once a month last year and that figure was expected to top 46 per cent this year, according to industry tracker eMarketer. 

Last week US global market research agency Millward Brown said that search engine Google has overtaken rival technology titan Apple as the world’s top brand in terms of value. 

Google’s brand value shot up 40 per cent in a year to $158.84 billion (115 billion euros), Millward Brown said in its 2014 100 Top BrandZ report.

“Google has been extremely innovative this year with Google Glass, investments in artificial intelligence and a range of partnerships,” said Benoit Tranzer, the head of Millward Brown France.

Google Glass is Internet-linked eyewear for which the firm has joined hands with Luxottica, a frame giant behind Ray-Ban and other high-end brands, to sell the new product in the United States.