Google to sell tablets straight to consumers

Google is planning an online store to sell tablet computers directly to consumers, U.S. media reported on Thursday.

The Google online store, expected to be similar to the ones of Apple and Amazon, would offer tablets made by Samsung and Asustek to boost the use of its Android operating system, The Wall Street Journal said in a report, citing anonymous sources.

The Mountain View, California-based tech giant, declined to comment on the report.

Some industry watchers said Google may use the store to boost the introduction of much-anticipated Nexus tablet, a 7-inch device at the price of 199 U.S. dollars.

The new device may not be an iPad killer, but is expected to be Google's competitive tablet product which could beat Amazon's Kindle Fire and have a strong second place in the tablet market.

It is not the first time that Google tries the direct-to-consumer approach to boost its share of mobile market. In 2010, the company failed to sell the Nexus One, a specially-designed Android smartphone, directly to consumers. The store was closed only four months later.