Google Nexus 9 By HTC Also Official, NVIDIA Tegra K1 Under The Hood, Android Lollipop Driven
Hello, upgrade. The Nexus 7 was amongst our favorite tablets in 2013, and Android loyalists have been wondering when its successor would ship for some time now. The answer is here, and it's the HTC-built Nexus 9. Straddling the form factor fence between a 7-inch slate and a 10-inch slate, the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 is a new size that just might hit the sweet spot (assuming none so far have hit it for you, that is). In typical Nexus fashion, the overall design is sleek and understated, with a soft grip back, gentle sloping curves around the edges, a thin bezel, and a trifecta of color options.
Aside from shipping with a potent 64-bit processor and Android 5.0 (Lollipop), there's also an optional magnetically attached, fully-responsive keyboard that enables it to convert into something of an on-the-go workhorse. Specs wise, you're looking at an 8.9-innch IPS panel (2048x1536), a 6700mAh battery, 8MP rear camera, 1.6MP front-facing webcam, a 2.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, Kepler DX1 GPU, and your choice of 16GB or 32GB of inbuilt storage space (but no microSD expansion slot).
Pre-orders are set to open up on October 17th, with shipments to start on November 3rd. Pricing is expected to start at $399, with the top-end, LTE-enabled 32GB model shipping for $599. Outside of finding it in the Google Play store, it'll also show up on shelves at Office Depot, Gamestop, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Staples, Walmart, and more -- a huge boon for the Nexus brand in general, which has typically not shipped to many B&M markets.
While the prices may feel a bit steep compared to the Nexus 7, the innards here are world-class. Frankly, we can't wait to benchmark this thing. On paper, it looks like it'll fly.
Aside from shipping with a potent 64-bit processor and Android 5.0 (Lollipop), there's also an optional magnetically attached, fully-responsive keyboard that enables it to convert into something of an on-the-go workhorse. Specs wise, you're looking at an 8.9-innch IPS panel (2048x1536), a 6700mAh battery, 8MP rear camera, 1.6MP front-facing webcam, a 2.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, Kepler DX1 GPU, and your choice of 16GB or 32GB of inbuilt storage space (but no microSD expansion slot).
Pre-orders are set to open up on October 17th, with shipments to start on November 3rd. Pricing is expected to start at $399, with the top-end, LTE-enabled 32GB model shipping for $599. Outside of finding it in the Google Play store, it'll also show up on shelves at Office Depot, Gamestop, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Staples, Walmart, and more -- a huge boon for the Nexus brand in general, which has typically not shipped to many B&M markets.
While the prices may feel a bit steep compared to the Nexus 7, the innards here are world-class. Frankly, we can't wait to benchmark this thing. On paper, it looks like it'll fly.
