Google Canada is still mum on the release date of the Nexus 6, but the Google Nexus 9 seems to be an open book – the Wi-Fi model has officially launched in the Play Store with expected shipping in 1-2 days…which is always the case. The HTC built Nexus 9 is also available through the Future Shop and Best Buy. Pricing is set at $429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and $529 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model. The 32GB LTE version will cost $669, but is still listed as ‘coming soon.’
The Google/HTC Nexus 9 was announced on October 15 and quickly went to pre-order status in the Google Play Store and other retailers with shipping set for November 3. This is the first Nexus tablet from HTC and the first one to be hailed as a true premium device with flagship specifications…although the Nexus 7 2013 was an impressive tablet. Google decided this year that everything would be bigger, with top specs and a higher price tag than we are used to seeing in the Nexus line. Both the Nexus 6 smartphone – made by Motorola – and the Nexus 9 tablet surprised many a loyal Nexus user with the high prices, however, the new devices have also attracted some new customers that were previously reluctant to purchase a more mid-range Nexus device.
The Nexus 9 sports a 8.9-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels with 281 pixels-per-inch (PPI) all protected by Gorilla Glass 3. It uses a Nvidia Tegra K1 64-bit dual-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz with a Kepler DX1 GPU. It comes with 2GB of RAM and a 16GB / 32GB internal storage option on the Wi-Fi only model and offers a 32GB LTE model. The main camera is a very respectable (for a tablet) 8MP with auto-focus and LED Flash and a 1.6MP front-facing camera (FFC) for video chatting or social media selfie shots. A large non-removable 6700mAh battery provides power to the Nexus 9. Because this is an HTC designed tablet, we are also treated to dual, front-facing stereo speakers with HTC BoomSound. The Nexus 9 measures 228.2mm x 152.7mm x 7.9mm and weighs in at 425 grams (Wi-Fi) or 436 grams (LTE). It will be running the newest Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box.
Please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know if you will be picking up the new Nexus 9 tablet…as always, we would love to hear from you.