According to a new DigiTimes report, citing unnamed sources `in the know' of the proceedings at Google, preparations are apparently underway at the bigwig Internet search company to launch as many as 600,000 units of an Android-based tablet by July this year.

Going by the information shared by the DigiTimes' sources "from the upstream supply chain," the shipments of the first 600,000 units of the tablet will likely begin next month.

It is speculated that the reported tablet will be branded as "Nexus," which has been the name that Google has used for naming all the Android-based phones, in the development of which the company has had an active involvement.

As per the report, Google has already placed an order for around 2 million units of the `Nexus' tablets for the remaining part of the ongoing year. The tablets - most likely to be manufactured by Asus - will feature a 7-inch screen; and will come with a price-tag of $199 (£126) before local sales taxes.

The tablet - which will also feature an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor, Android version 4.0 `Ice Cream Sandwich', and Wi-Fi for Internet connectivity - will reportedly be sold be Google straight to the consumers, through its Play Store's new hardware section.

With Google already offering the $399-priced Galaxy Nexus smartphone, the last week-launched hardware sales portal will largely deal with the sales of other Nexus-brand devices from later this year onwards.