5 Reasons A Motorola-Verizon Android Tablet Makes Sense

was the word Tuesday Financial Times Google

The Financial Times referenced sources who were said to have been briefed on the plans, and Motorola and Verizon haven't yet confirmed anything. But here are five reasons why it makes perfect sense for Motorola and Verizon:

1. Tablet Ubiquity: Tablet PCs have been around for ages, but credit Apple for lighting a new fire under consumers -- and enterprises -- with its mighty iPad. Thanks to the iPad's initial success, tablet rumors from Apple rivals have become a daily occurrence, whether it's Motorola and Verizon talking tablets and TV, or BlackBerry maker Research In Motion at work on a so-called BlackPad. Can you call yourself a mobile device titan these days if you don't have both a showpiece smartphone and a tablet? Motorola isn't taking any chances, it appears.

2. Android Ubiquity: No question about it, Google Android is everywhere, and it isn't just smartphones where Android is seeing growth. Motorola and Verizon are already responsible for some of the most impressive Android devices available today, but the Android tablet market has barely been scratched, save for a boatload of rumors around PC makers like HP, Samsung and Asus and the upcoming launch of the Cius tablet device from Cisco. If Motorola and Verizon want to be seen as ruling the expanding Android galaxy, a blockbuster tablet on top of their successful Droid releases would be one way to do it.

3. Past Successes: Sales figures for the original Droid and early sales figures for Droid X -- sold out through this week -- have been strong. It's too early to say if, as maker-carrier relationships go, Motorola and Verizon are hitting their stride the same way Apple and AT&T did, but it's sure starting to look like it.

4. No Strangers To TV: The Motorola and Verizon tablet is said to be integrated with Verizon's FiOS digital television service, and as the Financial Times pointed out, Motorola and Verizon already have a well-established TV technology relationship: Motorola builds the set-top boxes that Verizon uses for FiOS. A tablet to compete with iPad and other competitors may be new territory for Motorola, but FiOS and TV playback certainly isn't.

5. Keep The Cupboard Stocked: Motorola's most recent earnings report included surging second quarter profits more than 600 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago. It's a sign things are stabilizing at struggling Motorola, and executives felt the numbers were strong enough to project that Motorola will post its first quarterly revenue increase since 2006 in its third quarter.

Motorola isn't out of the woods, yet, though; its mobile device business saw a 6 percent year-over-year decrease in sales, despite smartphone shipments that were up 400,000 units from the previous quarter. To build on those gains, Motorola wants to keep its cupboard well-stocked with new and acclaimed devices -- Droids, more Droids and tablets -- especially as it prepares to split into two separate companies in 2011.