The Nexus 9 also represents something important to HTC, as it's a return to making tablets for the company following on from its last attempt - the less than successful HTC Flyer.
But from first impressions, based on quite limited time with the Nexus 9, we can tell you that the firm has done an impressive job.
The device feels as solid as you'd expect from HTC. It's built around a metal frame, and a soft-touch back that makes it comfortable to hold, and much less likely to slide out of your hand. The back has an embossed Nexus logo, putting HTC's own branding a little less prominently that you might expect.
Because this is a Google flagship product, there are a couple of advantages. Firstly, you get the newest version of Android installed, which is called Lollipop. This offers some real advantages, including support for 64-bit hardware for the first time, which HTC has taken advantage of by including nVidia's K1 chipset, which is a dual-core, 64-bit processor.
While the advantages of this aren't immediate, expect to see apps take advantage of this power over the next year or so.
The second big advantage of being so closely associated with Google, is that HTC isn't allowed to customise the look of Android. So what you get here is the purest form of the operating system possible.
The version we saw wasn't final, but it's looking really good. New menus have tidied things up and given Android a much more polished look, and flatter design. There are also new apps for Gmail coming, among further updates.
Android Lollipop also moves to a new method of running apps called ART (Android Runtime), which should offer a performance boost of up to 4 times over the existing Dalvik system that has been part of Android since it first launched.
The new ART system should improve battery life too, because it doesn't need to compile each app as it is loaded - this is done when you first install the programme. It's very techie, but the results should be tangible for all users.
All-in-all, there's a lot here to be impressed by. The feel of the Nexus 9 makes it seem like HTC has been making tablets for years, rather than this being its second go at the market.
We didn't have much time to play with things like the camera, but these are really secondary concerns on tablets - and besides, we'll have a full review for you in the coming weeks anyway.
The Nexus 9 comes in three different variants. You can have either 16 or 32GB in storage, and there's an LTE model with built-in 4G, and 32GB of storage. Prices in the UK start at about £300.
UK wearables market 'will be worth £313.6m by Christmas'
Celebrity Juice: Jessie J ruins expensive dress thanks to tent phobia
Geak Watch 2 smartwatch 'runs for two weeks off a single charge'
Flipboard 3.0 arrives with refreshed interface and new features
via All - Digital Spy - Entertainment and Media News
0 comments:
Post a Comment