Report: Google Chrome OS Tablet Coming To Verizon

Google is preparing to launch a Chrome OS tablet in November on Verizon Wireless' network, according to a Wednesday report from the blog Download Squad.

The tablet will go on sale on Nov. 26 -- which in the U.S. is "Black Friday," the busiest shopping day of the year -- and it will be manufactured by HTC, which also made the Google Nexus One smartphone, according to Download Squad, which quoted an unnamed source.

This isn't the first time a Chrome OS tablet rumor has been bandied about: Earlier this month, the Financial Times, quoting unnamed sources, reported that Verizon and Motorola are working on an Android tablet with a 10-inch screen that could become available in the U.S. in the fall.

Google and Verizon are becoming increasingly intertwined in a number of business areas, and as noted by Download Squad, it wouldn't be surprising to see the companies team up for a tablet.

Verizon has been doing a tidy business with Android devices such as Motorola's Droid and Droid X, and a recently leaked Verizon road map, published by the blog Boy Genius Report, suggests Verizon is planning to add Android devices from Samsung and HTC to its product lineup.

The two companies also teamed up recently in an attempt to reshape the debate around net neutrality, although they've been vilified for proposing that the concept and eventual regulations around it shouldn't apply to wireless networks.

Chrome OS is Google's bid to offer a simplified, Linux-based alternative to existing operating systems that revolves around Web applications and the browser. Google plans to launch Chrome OS in "late fall" and has indicated the first Chrome OS netbooks will arrive in time for the holiday season.

When Google unveiled Chrome OS last year the company said it would work with Acer, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Asus in developing Chrome OS products. In June, Dell said it's also working with Google on Chrome OS-powered hardware.