Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

HTC delivered a solid tablet in the Nexus 9. I like the device and feel that it competes well with other tablets on the market. I especially like Android 5.0 Lollipop and can’t wait to get it on my new Droid Turbo phone. I’ve played with the Nexus 9 at length and here are my thoughts so far on the device: ✔ PROS: - Ships with Android 5.0 Lollipop!!! For me, this is the best thing I like about the tablet - Snappy performance - GPU should help it perform well for gaming - Really good HD display - Good sound from the front facing speakers - Good battery life - Optional “Origami” like cover that folds into a stand - Optional keyboard case (albeit a tad expensive) - 4:3 aspect ratio is an improvement over the Nexus 7 - My big hands can hold it comfortably with one hand for viewing (interacting with it requires two hands of course) - The camera is decent for a tablet, especially if you have good lighting - I like that you can tap the screen to wake up the tablet - I like the soft touch material (although I did detect some flex/non-firmness in the tablet’s body) ✔ CONS: - Doesn’t really innovate above year old competition - No advanced features such as pen support, fingerprint reader, etc. - The power and volume buttons are almost flush to the body and hard to locate - No SD Card Slot or HDMI port - No HDR Camera option - The camera auto focus is slow - everything is slow after using the iPhone 6 plus ;-) - The camera’s optics protrude from the tablet’s body - LTE version not available at launch - Would be more compelling if it were $50-$100 cheaper ✔ OTHER POINTS: - I wish it had a physical home button but that’s just my preference - The black model is a finger print magnet - Android 5.0 needs an Instant HotSpot feature like iOS 8 - Android should place the home and back buttons on the right/left side of the device when in landscape mode, like the Kindle does - Android 5.0 and the new 4:3 aspect ratio may cause some compatibility/user-experience issues until apps are updated. - Apps may have to be updated before they will take advantage of the Nexus 9 CPU/GPU ✔ NEXUS 9 VS SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S 8.4 The Galaxy Tab S screen is amazing but the tablet can lag. I haven’t observed lag in the Nexus 9 yet. The Galaxy Tab S can be had for cheaper right now but it doesn’t yet >officially< have Android 5.0. The Nexus 9 ships with Android 5.0 and will get updates quicker. The Tab S has an SD Card slot if that matters to you. The Nexus 9 has better sound. The Nexus 9 is also has a slightly bigger screen which is better for content consumption. The Tabs S is smaller and more portable. Cha… I would probably lean Galaxy Tab S right now mostly due to price but I’d hang onto my receipt in case I found the lag too annoying. If you play a lot of graphics intensive games, the Nexus 9’s GPU gives it the edge over the Tab S, assuming your games have been optimized for its hardware. ✔ NEXUS 9 VS IPAD AIR 2 Neither the iPad Air 2 nor the Nexus 9 offers much to convince you to switch platforms. If you are undecided on the platform to choose, choose the iPad if you want the best ecosystem, better tablet centric experience, ease of use for non-sophisticated users, and better enterprise support. Choose the Nexus 9 for a customizable OS, a more techie centric OS, widgets (come on, Apple!!!), or if you make great use of Google Apps. And as much as I like the Apple Siri App, I much prefer Google Now. With the iPad Air 1 costing the same as the Nexus 9 and the iPad Mini 2 being $100 cheaper, it’s hard for me to recommend the Nexus 9 over them to people that aren’t tied to Android or its differentiating features. ✔ NEXUS 9 VS WINDOWS TABLETS I have several Windows Tablets and convertibles in the house and none of them beat the Nexus 9 in terms of a pure tablet experience. However, if you want the ability to run desktop apps on a tablet, nothing beats Windows Tablets. Thus, the decision comes down to how much you plan to use your tablet as a computer. I do believe that Windows Tablets can someday rival the iPad and Android Tablets in terms of a pure tablet experience. Unfortunately, Windows Tablets currently see a big gap in terms of usability, available apps, and price/performance ratios. ✔ NEXUS 9 VS KINDLE FIRE HDX 8.9 Basically this comes down to how much you value being able to customize your tablet and run all of the Google Apps versus having an easier to use, content centric tablet that includes possibly “free” content. I have an Amazon Prime membership. As a result, five seconds after setting up my Kindle, I was watching ‘The Avengers’ movie… for free! For me, “free” movies, TV, music, and books beats a customizable OS every day of the week! Yes, my Kindle HDX 8.9 doesn’t support Google Services Apps and getting other Google Play apps on my Kindle requires a one time, 4 minute easy hack. I just rather use Google Services Apps on my phone and use the “free” content on my Kindle. ✔ BOTTOM LINE I like the Nexus 9. It doesn’t try to wow you with crazy specs for gimmicky software. It delivers a solid Android tablet experience at a competitive price. I think it’s the perfect size for a tablet. It’s big enough to allow you to enjoy consuming content with it. It’s not so big that it makes your hand tired from holding it. I really like Android 5.0 Lollipop. I feel like Google does more to innovate its >mobile< operating system than Apple or Microsoft. As a tech geek, I appreciate many of the enhancements Android 5.0 brings. I just wish Android was a little more tablet centric. For example, in landscape mode, move the home and back buttons to the edge of the screen where my thumbs are, not the middle of the screen. This is how my Kindle Fire HDX works. Speaking of my 4th generation Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, I much prefer it and recommend it over the Nexus 9. Since I have an Amazon Prime membership, I get access to movies, TV, music, and books at no additional cost. By adding the 1mobile app to my Kindle, I can easily install almost all of the apps that are available for Android, not just those available from the Amazon app store. I simply much prefer the Kindle’s content centricity and ease of use over any other tablet, including the Nexus 9. With the Samsung Galaxy Tab S being so much cheaper these days, I can’t say that the Nexus 9 is a better option. I wish the Nexus 9 had some advanced, innovative hardware or features to differentiate it. Ditto for comparing the Nexus 9 to the iPad Air 1 or iPad Mini 2. Spec wise the Nexus 9 may look more appealing but in actual use, I think people would be happy with any of these tablets. Because of this, the cheaper options have the edge, in my opinion.