HTC hasn’t been entirely secretive about their plans to launch a new tablet later this year and the latest rumors seem to corroborate those whispers. It is believed that the company might have been tasked with the production of Google’s next Nexus tablet. HTC had been responsible for making the first Nexus handset ie the G1.
Initially known as the Nexus 8 and believed to be codenamed the Flounder, latest news indicated that the handset will be called the HTC Volantis. The tablet will pack a 8.9″ display with a resolution of 2048×1440 pixels. This resolution suggests that the tablet will approach a 4:3 aspect ratio. This would be the same as seen on Apple’s iPad series of tablets and has proven to be more conducive for reading.
Expected specifications include:
- 8.9″ Display at 2048×1440 (281ppi)
- NVIDIA Logan 64-bit processor (Tegra K1)
- 2GB RAM
- 16/32GB internal storage
- 8MP OIS main camera, 3MP front facing camera
- Aluminum zero-gap construction
- Stereo front-facing speakers
- 8.91″x5.98″x0.31″ body (that’s 22.63×15.19×0.79cm)
- 418g (or 427g with LTE) (that’s 14.74/15.1 ounces)
The tablet should not be expect at Google I/O. In fact the original source of the rumor ie Android Police suggests that the tablet won’t be available anytime before Q4 2014 and will be priced surprisingly high by Nexus standards. Expect the Nexus 9 or Volantis to be priced at $399 for 16GB, $499 for 32GB and $600+ for the LTE variants. Admittedly high prices for a Nexus class tablet but aluminum construction and top of the line specifications do not come cheap. Would you still be interested in a Nexus tablet if it was priced more in line with premium tablets? Let us know in the comments section.
[Via – Android Police]