HTC's Nexus Tablet?
Image from: Android Police rendered HTC Nexus 9
Rumors before any conference can be a crazy time. With the 2014 Google I/O edition just days away, leaks are inevitable, but this, this is an intriguing one.
Android Police has details about an HTC 8.9 inch Nexus tablet codenamed Volantis (previously named Flounder). The tablet isn't even expected to make an appearance at I/O or come out until Q4 2014, but will coincide with the launch of Android's unnamed L series. The result looks like a mix of the 2013 Nexus 7 from ASUS and the Nexus 5 from LG. HTC has done a variety of Android devices including the first Nexus brand phone, The Nexus One, the popular HTC ONE series, and tablet wize only have the HTC Flyer under their umbrella.
The specifications as are currently reported:
Aluminum zero-gap construction with tapered-sides
8.9" Display at 2048x1440 (281ppi), 4:3 aspect ratio
8.91"x5.98"x0.31" body (that's 22.63x15.19x0.79cm)
418g (or 427g with LTE) (that's 14.74/15.1 ounces)
NVIDIA Logan 64-bit processor (Tegra K1)
16/32GB internal storage
Stereo front-facing speakers
3MP front facing camera, 8MP OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) main camera
$399 for 16GB, 32GB for $499, LTE version not listed
This is a interesting time for the Nexus family. Rumors that the Android Silver program will be taking over the Nexus program were reported earlier this year. The Silver program won't be coming out until 2015, and reportedly the Nexus 6 phone was cancelled do to the implementation of the Silver program. If that were to be the case, this might be the last tablet under the Nexus name to get released. As Android Police point out, LG's Communications Director Ken Hong says "there are no Nexus devices in our immediate pipeline". LG has been a long standing partner including developing the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 phones, various Google TV devices, the Google Play Edition of the G Pad 8.3, and the upcoming G Watch among others.
