Rumour: Asus employee confirms Google will release co-branded Android-powered Nexus Tablet to compete with Kindle Fire

Over the past few months, both Samsung and Asus have been rumoured to be working on a 7-inch Nexus tablet with search giant Google.

Well, today, website Reuters has posted a report that claims an Asus employee has promised that his company will release a co-branded Android-powered tablet.

According to Reuters's anonymous source, this tablet will allow the companies to compete directly with Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire - rather than with Apple's iPad, as past rumours have suggested.

Reuters's source is apparently refusing to give up a specific release date or price for the forthcoming tablet, but last night Bloomberg reported that it will carry the same $199 price tag as the Kindle Fire.

Gizmodo Australia also believes this price tag is the real deal, albeit for an 8GB model. According to Gizmodo's Australian branch, the tablet will pack a 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, NFC functionality, and Android 4.1 (a.k.a. Jelly Bean).

Given Google's I/O 2012 keynote is scheduled to begin in under two hours, we haven't got long to wait for an official announcement on the so-called Nexus 7.