Google is considering setting up its own online tablet shop to boost Android sales.
While Google's mobile OS has been a success on smartphones, tablets running Android have made less of a dent in the Apple iPad's dominant market share.
Google will try to counter that by selling tablets directly to consumers via its own online store, with some co-branded devices, according to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Google is also considering subsidising the cost of tablets to bring prices down and drive takeup, one source claimed.
Google acquired manufacturer Motorola, which made the Android-powered Xoom tablet, but the Journal's sources say the store will also sell tablets by other partners, including Samsung and Asus. The latter is expected to release a co-branded tablet with Google later this year.
The tech giant tried a similar tactic with smartphones in January 2010, selling its first handset, the Nexus One, directly to consumers online. While Google said it sold 300,000 smartphones via the online store, it was shut down several months after it opened.
"It's clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone," Android head Andy Rubin said at the time.
Google declined to comment on the report.
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