Verizon, Google Building iPad Rival

Verizon and Google are joining forces to develop a new tablet to take on the iPad, Verizon said yesterday. The move steps up the growing rivalry between Google and Apple, and gives Verizon a shot at a share of the business rival AT&T has been getting through its exclusive deal to support the iPhone and iPad. "Other vendors are not going to stand by and just cede" the tablet market to Apple, a tech expert says. "We're going to see more competition in this space."

With Apple selling a million iPads in the product's first month alone, Dell and Toshiba are also working on their own tablets. By aligning with Google, Verizon may be blowing its chances to someday carry a version of the iPhone, the San Jose Mercury-News reports. Verizon has said tablets represent "the next big wave of opportunities" for it.
(More Verizon stories.)