nexus 9
Latest
Google getting out of the tablet game was inevitable (and smart)
Yesterday afternoon, Google's hardware division made an unusually forthcoming announcement: The company will no longer build its own tablets. Instead, it will focus all of its efforts on laptops. Given that Google released the Pixel Slate (its first Chrome OS tablet) just eight months ago, the news was a bit surprising. But if you've paid attention to Google's checkered history with tablets, it's hard to see this move as anything but logical, particularly when you consider the undeniable success Chromebooks have had lately, particularly in education.
Google's Nexus 9 tablet slashed to £200 in the UK
If you'd had your eye on a new Nexus device but missed out on the recent round of smartphone sales, today's new Google tablet deal might be of interest. Just days after the Nexus 6 price was slashed to £304 (normally £479), the WiFi Nexus 9 is enjoying similar treatment, with the 16GB model now setting you back £200 instead of the usual £319. Amazon and Argos are both hosting the deal, which also includes a £100 discount on the 32GB model, but Google has not reflected the price change on its own store.
At £199, Google's Nexus 9 finally makes sense
Ever since Google launched the Nexus 10, I've craved a decent full-size Android tablet. Sony's Xperia slates are nice enough, but I've always missed the purified software experience that comes with Nexus devices. When the Nexus 9 was announced, I thought a worthy upgrade had arrived, but it quickly became clear that the hardware wasn't up to HTC's usual standards. The plastic back creaked and the display suffered from light leaks, while the price, which originally started at $399/£319, felt a little on the high side.
IRL: Why I got my mom a Nexus 9 for Christmas
My dad called me up a few weeks ago saying he wanted to get mom a tablet for Christmas, one that might be good enough to replace the laptop she hated. It wasn't the hardware causing angst; it was the software: Windows 8. She's pretty comfortable with technology, but migrating from the familiar world of Windows' past was tricky and she wasn't alone -- I didn't find it easy either. While no tablet could completely replace a laptop, for general internet use, it's all she really needed.
You can buy a Nexus 9 for half price, but only if you're quick
HTC has decided that it doesn't want to follow the herd when it comes to slashing prices just before the gadget-buying apocalypse that is Black Friday. That's why, instead, the company will ape an Amazon-style flash sale by offering a single, cut-price device every Tuesday for the next nine weeks. First up, we've got the brand new Nexus 9, which is available for $199, 50 percent off the regular $399 price. Unfortunately, HTC will only sell you a limited quantity of the Lollipop-running tablet at such a deep discount, so Johnny latecomer will have to settle for just $50 knocked-off the 16GB or 32GB edition of the slate. The deal is open from now until midnight ET / 9PM PT, so you'd best get a move on if you want to save your cash. Photo by Will Lipman
Google Nexus 9 review: The first taste of Lollipop is a sweet one
It's been nearly five years since Google released its very first Nexus device, and by now we all basically get what the Nexus name stands for. It's all about building devices to show off the bleeding-edge version of Android, to give us a better sense of Google's vision of our collective mobile future. That future isn't just phones, either: It's about screens of all sizes, and that's why Google and HTC teamed up to build the new Nexus 9. Now that ancestors like the Nexus 7 and 10 have been forcibly shuffled off this mortal coil, the 9 stands alone as the sole tablet in Google's Nexus hardware lineup. So, does it live up to the standard geeks expect from the Nexus name? And more importantly, is it actually worth the asking price?
The Nexus 9 wasn't designed to be an iPad killer
The Nexus 9 wasn't designed to be an iPad killer; it was designed to inspire Google's Android partners to create one instead. Though you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise: It was announced one day before the iPad Air 2 and mini 3, comes with a powerful 64-bit NVIDIA chip and will be competitively priced with Apple's tablets. But Alberto Villarreal, head of the Nexus 9's industrial design, insists that this wasn't the purpose. "We wanted to accelerate the premium market for Android tablets," Villarreal said. "[The Nexus 9] has a lot of attributes and definitely will bring the quality for other companies to do better."
Leaked image purportedly shows HTC's Nexus 9 tablet
A new image from @upleaks, along with an apparent trip through the FCC has provided solid evidence that Google is set to release the Nexus 9 tablet built by HTC. If real, the pic clearly shows Nexus and HTC branding on the back, which appears to be made of some kind of grippy, Nexus 5-like plastic material. An HTC tablet matching recent Nexus 9 rumors also just passed through the FCC in a WiFi-only variant. To top it off, an NVIDIA lawsuit last month revealed that HTC would build a Nexus tablet with a Tegra chip, likely a 64-bit K1. Google may be prepping the Nexus 9 (and possibly a rumored Nexus 6 handset) as the first devices to get Android L, which supports 64-bit CPUs via the ART runtime. It should be unveiled soon, and given Google's Nexus history, expect nothing less than a cutting edge Android tablet on the cheap.
HTC will mark its return to tablets with Google's Nexus 9
Rumors of an HTC-made Nexus device have swirled for some time, but only recently have details of a next-generation tablet started to become apparent. Not long after NVIDIA inadvertently leaked that the Taiwanese company is linking up with Google to launch the Nexus 9, the Wall Street Journal has added even more credibility to reports by stating that HTC engineers have been regularly flying to Google's Mountain View HQ in order to finalize the 9-inch device. As part of a patent lawsuit against Qualcomm and Samsung earlier this month, NVIDIA revealed that it would be providing the muscle for the Android L-powered slate, HTC's first since the Flyer, which is expected to feature its Tegra K1 processor and launch within the third quarter. However, we're now just over a week away from the end of September, so it looks increasingly likely that we'll see something official next month. Remember, Google has a history of scheduling events in October.
