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.
