Tis the season and we’re apparently on the eve of the announcement of the Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Android L (Lollipop? Lemon Meringue Pie?). Forbes has this morning chimed in with their own take on the release, citing a source close to Google, who has let them in on a few details of the launch.
According to Forbes, the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will be announced with Android L tomorrow, via a blog post, as has been the case for the past couple of years. According to their source, an event was planned, but was cancelled because Google ‘was still fine tweaking Android L’. The announcement date corroborates further leaks, but their source also advised that the phone and tablet would be made available for pre-order on the 17th of October, before finally going on-sale on November 3rd, a date we’ve heard previously. Though they do advise that ‘the pre-order and purchasing dates are subject to last minute change’.
The specs of the Nexus 9 are also listed, as is the pricing which is suggested as US$399 for the 16GB version, which is assumed to be Wi-Fi only, while the a 32GB LTE version will sell for US$499.
Specs wise the tablet will come with pretty much everything we’ve heard previously: 8.9″ 2048×1440 resolution display, 64-bit dual-core Nvidia K1 ‘Denver’ CPU, 8MP Rear Camera and 3MP Front-facing camera. Where the story takes a turn for the somewhat unbelievable is that the source has advised that both the 16GB and 32GB version of the Nexus 9 will have expandable memory – believe it or not.
The body will have a brushed aluminum frame instead of the all metal design previously reported by Android Police, a decision which has been made in order ‘to keep costs down’. This decision to go with just an aluminium frame will also keep the weight down as well, with the tablet said to weigh just 480 grams. Also included in the tablet will be front-facing ‘BoomSound’ style speakers.
While accessories were talked about, the famed keyboard cover wasn’t mentioned. Instead an “origami” magnetic stand-case is said to launch with the tablet which will ‘fold in all directions’ and allow the tablet to be propped up.
We’ll see what is actually launched soon enough. But that pricing is certainly getting quite high and may deter many people from purchasing.
And still no price drop on the ‘5. Looks like they’ll be selling the two phones concurrently?
Been waiting for the Nexus 9 for a while. My old N7’12 is dying, my employer offered an iPad Mini but I have held out for the N9. The prices reported here have taken the wind out of the sail, somewhat. At that price, I might as well accept the iPad Mini from my employer :(. So I hope the leaked price are incorrect. And yes to expandable memory, though.
Are you paying for the iPad Mini? They’re also different content in each device…. CPU / RAM / Camera.
Employer is paying for the iPad Mini. My reason for resisting a Crapple is the ecosystem. I have had nothing but Android for day dot starting with the original HTC Desire and I have purchased well over $1K of apps/books from gPlay Store. I really don’t like the idea of purchasing the same Apps/new books again for a different platform. I was hoping the new HTC manufactured Nexus 9 would be well priced so I can replace the aging N7 and use the OneNote at work. Since it will also be used for work, the expandable memory would be ideal.
So it’s either a work-paid device or self-paid device that you can claim on tax and get money back on. Personally I’ll take the Android, because if you want to get anywhere near back to all the stuff on iOS you’ll be spending almost as much on the content again on the Apple market…
Agree whole heartedly. Just hoping the price is not as high as the leak suggests. Must admit I hadn’t thought of the tax angle, though. Food for thought.
I’m glad it’s not all metal. I’m hoping it has the soft touch back like the nexus 5. I’d prefer to hold on to something soft and grippy
Here’s hoping that the price has been reported $100 too high, and the microSD slot is true. Oh, and that Qi charging is in there, just never mentioned.
I expect to be sitting this one out (unless they have another easy to win competition) – I’m just not seeing the justification for the massive price jump from a practical standpoint. If Nvidia can do their shield for $299, so can google.
Fairly bold title there Ausdroid. You seem fairly confident in the dates.
If it turns out that the 32GB N9 LTE can be used as a phone and has a microSDXC slot, then my Aldi Bauhn 10.1in will be living on borrowed time.
Why on earth would they have the tablet be able to be used as a phone?
That doesn’t make any sense.
Because some people may make a purchasing decision based on that. If a tablet has the hardware required to allow this why would you artificially cripple it to remove that functionality and some potential customers? THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE!
With my old 7in Telstra T-Touch Tab, I could use that as a regular cellphone, use it using a headset, or use it as a speaker phone.
With my current Aldi Bauhn 10.1in, I can use that as a cellphone using a headset, or as a speaker phone.
Can you use the hangouts calling functionality on a tablet? That may be worth looking into. I have no idea what the pricing is like so but it’s worth looking at. If the calls are cheap enough, you may even be able to buy more data and break even.
I haven’t looked at trying that, as my current Aldi Bauhn is a 3G JB 4.1.2 device.
The Bauhn shipped with Skype, and I know Skype VoIP and video work on it smoothly on WiFi.