After going through several manufacturers, Google reportedly has settled for Asus to develop its 7-inch Google Nexus tablet, expected to take on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Google and Asus should unveil the new device as early as May, retailing it for a reported price range of $199 to $249.

HTC was on the short list as well. However Google wanted to take the lead on the design, an important responsibility HTC was not willing to hand over. HTC insisted on directing the development of the device, and did not agree on creating a low-priced tablet on account that it would “impair” its brand image. Acer was also in the running, but the company reportedly did not have R&D capabilities in-house. Asus’ overall product quality and ODM capability eventually made the difference.

The new Google Nexus tablet may resemble the Asus MeMo 370T unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, which featured an Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC. Google’s tablet is expected to run on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and sport Nvidia’s quad-core SoC, 1GB of internal storage, and a 1280 x 800 pixels resolution.

Moreover, Google indicates that something even greater is in the cards, apparently confirming reports that it is gearing up to develop a wireless entertainment system. For now, Google Play seems to be taking over the Android Market, Google Music and Google Books, placing the anticipated tablet in a perfect position to challenge Amazon’s Kindle Fire. Asus’ excellent track record and the success of its popular Transformer tablets further pave the way for Google to enter the competitive tablet market with Nexus.