Reports of Google's(s goog) Nexus device line's untimely demise appear to be premature. According to a report published on Saturday by Android Police, we're getting at least one more Nexus device, an 8.9-inch tablet made by HTC, powered by a Nvidia(s nvda) Tegra K1 64-bit processor.
The tablet, which could be the device previously tipped as "Flounder" in an Android change-log, has quite the laundry list of impressive specifications: a 2048 x 1440 8.9-inch display, 2GB of RAM, and Nvidia's rather impressive, desktop-class Tegra K1 processor. That processor, which to this point has only been included to the Xiaomi Mi Pad, is 64-bit and can produce some incredible graphics for a mobile device.
Because Nexus devices are usually intended as a reference device for Android developers, it's not surprising Google wanted a 64-bit processor to match Apple's A7 processor. It's time Android entered the 64-bit era for the architecture's potential improved performance and support for additional memory.
According to the source image published by Android Police, "Volantis," as the tablet is codenamed, will feature aluminium construction and weigh in at a heavy 418 grams, although it should be relatively skinny at 0.31-inches thick.
This HTC tablet is expected to be the launch device for Android "L," the next version of the operating system after 4.4 Kit Kat. Sorry! We're probably not going to see it later this week at Google I/O -- you'll have to wait a little longer for the first HTC Nexus device since the original Nexus One in 2010.