Verizon and Google step up to the slate

Here’s another reason to hold off on buying an Apple iPad: something better may be on the way. This time, though, the something better isn’t coming from Steve Jobs-inspired geniuses, but from Google and Verizon.

News of Google Android operating-system phones leaping past the iPhone into the No. 2 spot for smartphone sales (http://bit.ly/dlwOb0)  (behind Research in Motion’s BlackBerry), and with already more than 1 million iPads sold, it's time for some serious competition. Customers are liking the Android phones and also are liking the Apple tablet. It's a safe bet that an Android-based tablet on a solid 3G wireless network will also sell.

EWeek blogger Clint Boulton reported Wednesday that Verizon has confirmed it is working with Google on a tablet.

Read the blog: (http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Verizon-Confirms-it-is-Working-on-Android-Tablet-With-Google-416668/)

I'm still waiting patiently on the sideline, happy as a cat in a canary cage, using my iMac and Macbook computers, iPhone and Amazon Kindle electronic reader. I haven't dished out $500 or $600 yet on a device that does nothing my other devices don't, and I also haven't begun paying $9.99 for iPad apps, which is the going price for many of the popular apps that aren't free. Compare that price with the 99 cents I pay for most paid apps on my iPhone, and you’ll see why I’m waiting.

The iPad is a luxury item for now. Give me a tablet that moves from the "nice-to-have" category into the "must-have" category, and I'll jump on board. Maybe the Android-Verizon team will move the needle enough to make that happen.