The Google Nexus 8 may not be the only tablet being prepped by HTC, as evidence suggests a pair of new slates could be on the cards for a pretty similar launch window.
HTC has long been rumored to be the brand behind the Nexus 8 – the unannounced Google tablet that could give the iPad Air a serious run for its money. However, it seems that the Taiwanese tech firm may not in fact have invested all of its eggs in Google’s considerable basket, as rumors suggest that a further two HTC branded slates will hit the market at almost exactly the same time as the Nexus 8.
HTC’s prior attempts to crack the tablet PC market have walked the line between disappointing and depressing, though analysts expect something much more viable this time around.
As for Google’s next tablet, the Nexus 8 is widely tipped for a late Q3 or early Q4 launch – either way leaving plenty of time for lucrative holiday sales. It was back in the spring that the first seemingly genuine snippets came to light of an HTC tablet in the works that would carry the Nexus branding – a powerful piece of kit with an NVIDIA K1 quad-core CPU at its heart. The leaks were then backed by all manner of analysts and reputable tipsters who claimed that at Google had wanted to partner with HTC all along for a tablet PC project, it was genuinely a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.
And that’s where the tale of the HTC Volantis came from – the ultra-high-end Google Nexus 8 we’ll hopefully be seeing in a few months or so.
Meanwhile, new intel has come to light suggesting that HTC will not in fact be throwing out only one tablet PC to further Google’s good name. Instead, the folks in Taiwan are said to be readying a further two tablet PCs to debut at the same time – the 12-inch T12 and the 7-inch T7. There’s really nothing to go on in terms of specifics, other than the idea that the smaller slate will be a budget buy and the large 12-incher will be a super-premium buy.
Neither Google nor HTC ha so far been willing to comment on the matter, so we’re waiting to see what the rumor mill comes up with next.
Over to you…
