A new report claims that Google has partnered with HTC to build a "high-performance" and high-end 8.9-inch Nexus tablet with production beginning this summer.
There was a time when HTC was one of the only major players in the smartphone world. The company has built some of the most popular handheld devices over the years and was actually hired by other companies in the mobile world to build their devices. It was behind the designs of HP's very successful iPaq Windows PDA and Palm's Treo 650 just to name a few. HTC decided that since its partners and customers seemed to love their design know-how, it would build and release smartphones and tablets under its own brand.
HTC was the early favorite in the Android smartphone world and was even chosen by Google to partner on the first Android smartphone, the T-Mobile G1 and its first Nexus smartphone, the Nexus One. Times have changed and HTC is trying to rebuild the ground it lost to Samsung and things could be getting a whole lot better for the company.
A new report claims that Google has partnered with HTC on an 8.9-inch "high-performance" Nexus tablet that's set for release later this year. Rhoda Alexander, director of tablet and monitor research at IHS Technology told CNET that Google plans to release a "high-performance" 8.9-inch tablet that will carry a premium price tag.
"Volume production is expected to start in July or August," Alexander said. "The expectation is [that] this will be a lower volume product, carrying a premium price tag to support the specifications."
The analyst also said she would not be surprised if the tablet is priced higher than the current $299 sweet spot price.
This will put Google and HTC's Nexus tablet head to head with the most popular 8.9-inch tablet on the market, Amazon's Kindle Fire. The device would likely be used as a launch vehicle for the next major update to Android, rumored names include Lollipop, Licorice, and other sweet foods that being with "L".
Google released an update to its 7-inch Nexus 7 last summer and many people have been waiting for a similar update to the 10-inch Nexus 10. If this report is true, Google could be planning to possibly replace the Nexus 10 entirely with this tablet or just add a new size and premium build for customers to experience the latest and greatest version of Android. We'll be sure to keep our eye on this one for you.
