In an interview published today in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (Google Translation) Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke fondly of Steve Jobs, praising his creativity and genius, and called the iPad an amazing and revolutionary product. Schmidt also told the paper, however, that Apple and Google remain rivals, and that the competition between the two companies would continue. To that end, he announced that Google was working on a “tablet of the highest quality” that would rival Apple’s iPad. He also hinted at exciting things coming in the smartphone market as “brutal competition” would continue between Apple and Google.

Schmidt also confirmed a rumor we reported on last week told the paper that Google was preparing a system capable of competing with Siri, the killer app of Apple’s iPhone 4S. Schmidt declined to offer any further details of Google’s new tablet apart from the six month time frame.

While Google-branded smartphones have generally been only a small portion of broader Android market, they have consistently done well. Their most recent entry, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, released late last week to much fanfare and even lines outside Verizon stores. In the tablet market, however, Google has been rather less fortunate. Samsung has delivered what many regard as the best Android tablet available, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Google’s one attemptt at a Google-branded device, the Motorola Xoom, did not fare well at all. A new tablet, perhaps with the Nexus branding, could be a welcome addition to the tablet market. The question remains, however, whether it will be able to knock the iPad off its lofty perch. While there have been a slew of Android-based tablets released since the first iPad’s launch in April of 2010, none has come close to being a true rival to Apple’s tablet. It seems Eric Schmidt hopes to change that by taking Google into the tablet market again.

Can Google make a real iPad rival? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.