Google unveils Nexus 9 tablet: 8.9-inch screen, available for preorder October 17

Just ahead of Apple’s iPad event, Google has unveiled the Nexus 9, an 8.9-inch tablet that will be the first to run the Android Lollipop OS (Android 5.0). Preorders start October 17, with an in-store release date scheduled for November 3. The 16GB model of the tablet will cost $399, with the 32GB model starting at $479 and the LTE version of the 32GB model at a whopping $599.

Google has partnered with HTC to manufacture the company’s first 8.9-inch tablet, while Motorola will produce the 5.9-inch Nexus 6 smartphone. The Nexus 9 has a 2,048×1,536-pixel-resolution screen and is powered by a 64-bit 2.3GHz Nvidia K1 processor with Kepler GPU and 2GB of RAM.

The 8.9-incher features front-facing stereo speakers with HTC’s promising BoomSound technology, NFC Bluetooth 4.1, and microphones on the top and bottom ends of the slate. Also on the tablet you’ll find an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and a f/2.4 aperture — for taking sharper and brighter photos in low-lighting — as well as a 1.6-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Nexus 9 is skinny, at 0.31 inch (7.95mm), and easy to hold, weighing 0.94 pound (425g), but it would barely crack our thinnest and lightest tablets list. Connections on the slate are minimal, consisting of only a single Micro-USB 2.0 port and a 3.5mm audio jack. It will come in three different colors, indigo black, lunar white and sand; however the sand-colored models, like the LTE model of the 32GB version, won’t be available until later in 2014.

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As far as accessories go, Google says it has designed a keyboard folio that “magnetically attaches to the Nexus 9, folds into two different angles and rests securely on your lap like a laptop.” The Nexus 9’s Keyboard Folio is sold separately, pairs by NFC and can charge via Micro-USB with a battery that can purportedly last five months between charges. No word on pricing but we should know soon.

The 8- to 9-inch tablet has become a popular size. Apple is expected to launch at least one new iPad at an event on Thursday, October 16, Amazon recently updated the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 with a faster processor and Samsung has its new Galaxy Tab S 8.4. We’ll have to get our hands on the Nexus 9 to see how it compares with the current bigwigs.

Check back soon on CNET closer to the November 3 release date for a more hands-on look at the Nexus 9. What do you think of Google’s latest slate? Let us know in the comments section.