Rumors Hit of Pricey, “High Performance” 8.9 Inch Nexus Tablet

At this point, it’s tough to keep up with all the various rumors that have surfaced regarding Google’s next Nexus tablet. Yesterday, CNET related the prediction of Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS Technology, who says that Google is gunning for an 8.9-inch Nexus tablet that’ll offer “high-performance”…and a high price tag.

Said Alexander:

“Volume production is expected to start in July or August. The expectation is [that] this will be a lower volume product, carrying a premium price tag to support the specifications.”

As to what those specifications will be, Alexander doesn’t specify, but she did say that she “would not be surprised if it is higher than $299.” Moreover, she says that HTC might be the OEM behind the device, which is something we first heard back in February.

But then, we’ve heard a lot of things over the last few months about the next Nexus tablet. The CNET post cites Alexander as predicting another Nexus 7, while another rumor from last month—this time originating with someone purporting to work in Google’s office in Dublin—says that the Nexus 7 line is done entirely. And then there was that other rumor from February that pegged Asus—not HTC—as the maker of the next Nexus, which would measure at 8-inches. And by the way: does 8.9 inches qualify as an 8-inch device? Let’s go with yes, just for simplicity’s sake.

In short: no one knows anything. One reason I have my doubts about HTC being involved in general is because that particular company has been leaking like a sieve lately. By now, I would expect to have at least three or four different photos of an HTC-made Google tablet. And not too long ago, WSJ reported that Asus was putting its plans for a dual-boot Windows 8 and Android tablet-PC-hybrid on indefinite hold due to pressure from Google and Microsoft. I would expect that Google would have more juice to tell Asus to knock it off with such a device if it had a contract to make the next Nexus. A Windows/Android hybrid would definitely cut into the possible sales for such a tablet, so I’m putting my money on Asus.

So how high-performance will this Nexus 8 be? What will set it apart from the other Android tablets on the market? Will it really enter production this summer? Hopefully we’ll get some concrete answers soon, as these rumors are getting tiresome.

[Source: CNET]