Following a flurry of purported Android 3.0 details, a new report out of Taiwan claims that Google is putting a solid time line in place with its Android partners. Citing “sources from notebook players,” the rumor roulette-wheel that is DigiTimes suggests that Google recently contacted its partners with news that engineering samples of Android 3.0 will be ready by December. The report also claims that manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, Acer, Asustek Computer and Micro-Star International will have Gingerbread tablets in hand to show off at CES in January, 2011. Digitimes wraps up its communique with word that Android 4.0 will launch in the second half of 2011. It also notes that Android’s popularity amongst tablet makers will continue to surge thanks to lower software and hardware costs compared to Windows-powered tablets. Whether or not consumers will bite, however, remains to be seen.

Read