Report: HTC and Google still going strong on Nexus 9 efforts
HTC’s name has been in the wind as one of the manufacturers responsible for making the next Nexus tablet, though with little to go on since the initial rumor it’s understandable if there’s still doubt of that happening. It looks like those plans could still be on as a report from the Wall Street Journal suggests Google and HTC have been hard at work on the next Nexus tablet (known as the Nexus 9) for the past few months.
The report suggests HTC engineers have been flying out to Google’s headquarters on a frequent basis to ease the collaboration process (which certainly isn’t that hard to believe considering how important of a device this is).
HTC hasn’t had success in the tablet space. It all began with the untimely launch of the HTC Flyer, and continued through an uninspiring HTC Jetstream. It felt like just yesterday that HTC threw in the towel and decided to focus on smartphones alone, but being tapped as the manufacturer of the next Nexus tablet seems to be a good reason to jump back into the fold.
The report touched on Google’s decision to go with HTC over more seasoned veterans such as Samsung and ASUS. According to it, Google doesn’t want any one or two manufacturers having a “monopoly,” of sorts, over the Nexus-making duties. It’s a move that’s consistent with how the line has operated so far, with manufacturers usually getting the honor of working on two different devices.
We’re hoping this launch will inspire HTC to step back into the tablet game and challenge LG, Samsung and ASUS to a game they’ve all gotten quite good at. For now, though, we’re just hoping to get our first glimpse of the thing ahead of its glorious debut.