HTC working on Android-based tablet

Device could be in the shops by November

HTC already produces a number of Android smartphones

HTC has reportedly entered into a partnership with Google to produce an Android-based tablet for release in November.

Technology blog Download Squad cited unnamed sources in reporting that the two companies are readying an Android device which will run on Verizon in the US.

The tablet will reportedly feature at least 32GB of storage, with Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics hardware and support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G wireless connections.

The device will apparently be released on 26 November, a date known to retailers as 'Black Friday' and the unofficial start of the US holiday shopping season. No details on an international release were given.

HTC currently produces a number of Android smartphones, which could come in handy if the company enters the tablet space, according to IDC senior research analyst Ramon Llamas.

"HTC has a head start with Android. It knows it very well," he said. "The question is whether there is a space in the market between smartphones and notebooks."

Llamas told V3.co.uk that, despite the early success of the Apple iPad, the market for tablets is far from established.

"HTC is already doing well with mobile phones, and the question is what do they really have to gain?" Llamas said. "People have followed in Apple's wake and not enjoyed the same success."