It was originally rumored that Google might unveil its forthcoming Nexus 9 tablet (codenamed Volantis) built by HTC on October 8, only to be supplanted by a more recent rumor suggesting that October 15 or 16 are more likely targets. While the specific date remains up the air, the good news is that the Nexus 9 is still said to be launching this month.

The folks at Bright Side of the News claim to have confirmed the October launch with its unnamed sources, while adding that they've also learned it will retail for $399. That's quite a bit higher than the Nexus 7's $229 price tag, and if it holds true, that would indicate the Nexus 9 is a premium level tablet.


Based on previous rumors and leaked information, the Nexus 9 will come to town piggybacking on top of NVIDIA's Tegra K1 System-on-Chip (SoC). It will also have an 8.9-inch display with a 2048x1440 resolution, 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage, 8-megapizel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), 3-megapixel front-facing camera, front-facing speakers, and a zero-gap aluminum design.

It's also highly likely that Google will use the Nexus 9 to introduce the next version of its mobile operating system, Android L. Two possible candidates for the "L" designation include "Lollipop" and "Lemon Meringue Pie." One of the benefits of Android L is that it supports 64-bit computing.

According to BSN, the Nexus 9 won't be exclusive to the Google Play store -- expect it to be widely available on November 3 at most major retailers suchs as Best Buy.