October is definitely Nexus season and the rumours are flying thick and fast. Specs, launch and release dates and now prices are being thrown around, with Bright Side of News reporting all four pieces of information have been confirmed by their source.
According to BSN, the HTC built Nexus 9 will be announced on the 15th of October, before becoming available on the 3rd of November in Google Play (no mention of international availability). BSN do mention the tablet will go on-sale in Bricks & Mortar stores, which would presumably be in the US, although Australia saw quite a run on the Nexus 7 here in Australia. The larger screened Nexus 10 however, saw slower sales and a number of JB Hifi stores still have the tablet on shelves.
Pricing wise, BSN have apparently been advised the 8.9″ device will go on-sale for US$399 which would obviously attract a shipping charge on-top. This equates to around AU$459 but with ‘Australia tax’, you should probably budget in $499 if you’re in the market for a new tablet.
The specs are somewhat more nebulous, with BSN only speculating on the processor which they advise WILL be the Nvidia Tegra K1, but uncertainty still surrounds which one. According to BSN there is uncertainty as to whether this will be the 32-bit NVidia Tegra K1 we’ve currently seen in devices already – including the NVidia Shield tablet and Acer Chromebooks – or the 64-Bit ‘Denver’ processor they’ve teased since the launch in January. To support their 64-bit hopes, BSN has pointed to blog posts in which Nvidia claim ‘And for hard-core Android fans, take note that we’re already developing the next version of Android – “L” – on the 64-bit Tegra K1.’
With October 15th less than a week away, we should know soon. If the launch is US time (and why wouldn’t it be), we should expect to see information next Friday morning here in Australia, so make sure you’re up early.
